Lily of the Valley
by random-fruitcake04
Summary: Sorry for the uber long wait! Here's the latest chapter! Happy reading! SeiichiXOCXMarui Please review!
1. The man in my dreams

In the midst of the darkness, a young man appeared. He had light blue-violet semi-layered hair, eyes that are the same colour as lavender, fair complexion on his feminine structure and an expression of deep gentleness with dignity and pride.

_Who are you?_ A young girl whose hair that reached down to her waist was the same colour as the sunset.

The young man didn't reply and slowly disappeared into thin air.

_Wait! You haven't told me your name!_ She called at him as hard as she could but she was too late. He vanished.

As soon she was all alone, the darkness grew, enveloping her completely.

The sun's rays completely spread the spacious room. The young girl who was lying on the four-poster bed didn't move for a while, letting the light flood over her. She didn't blink her eyes when it hit her face and just didn't move at single bit. Slowly, she sat up on her bed as soon as she heard someone knock the door. "Please come inside." She said softly, her expression unchanged.

The door creaked open and a maid entered the room, carrying a tray with food on it. "Good morning miss, how was your sleep?" She greeted politely as she placed the tray neatly in front of her.

She nodded automatically. "It's still the same. I've dreamt of the mysterious man again."

"I see. Do you know him by any chance?" she asked inquiringly but soon clamped her mouth by covering it with her hands. "I'm sorry miss! I didn't mean to--"

She shook her head slowly and smiled. "It's okay. You did not offend me, Ami-san." She said gently.

"I'm still deeply sorry." She apologized.

"It doesn't really matter." She chuckled. She moved her hand slowly and cautiously looked for something until she held a piece of French bread and took a bite from it. "And Ami-san, I do not know him at all. I thought that I must've met him during my childhood but it seems very unlikely." She added.

"Understood, miss." She bowed shortly and stepped back towards the door. "If you need anything else, just ring the bell on your right."

"Yes and thank you." She replied. As soon as the maid left the room, she put down the bread and moved her head down. "It doesn't really matter because…I'm blind." She whispered. "I've been blind for ten years now. Time flies fast if I think about it." She sighed. _All I can see is nothing but darkness. I wish I can see, at least once._

She shook her head furiously. "There's no time for sappy thoughts, Ogawa Kaori." She felt the objects before her and picked up the bread again, eating it away. She somehow didn't spill the glass of cold water and drank it. "You can still find happiness even in this state." She said positively to herself.

* * *

_**Okay, I've decided to post this two months early. Are you all happy? Bet you are.**_

_**Well, I'm trying to use a different kind of OC and yes. She's blind but there's nothing wrong about it, is there? Don't worry. She's not the depressed type, I assure of you of that. The title of the story has a meaning behind everything here. Promise. I'm going to try some of my drama skills here, lol. I'll try not to make it too dramatic but dramatic enough for two romanticists. **_

_**Oh yeah, if some of you go to the OHSHC section, please do read my other story. It's called **__**More Than Words**__** and it's a MoriXOC fic. Please support my fic. I'm trying to make that story a somehow successful one since the first one I've made sucks like hell.**_

_**Please and Thank you and please review!**_


	2. She's real

A young man was in the middle of a vast field full of flowers in variety, fruits of all sorts and vegetables imaginable. Right now, he decided to plant orange blossoms so he carefully put the seeds on the soil bed and covered it with soil. He took a sprinkler and watered it, a smile crept on his lips. As soon as he was done, he stood up and wiped some of his sweat from his face with a towel, feeling contented about what he did.

Just before he walked back to his house, he saw a young girl standing under the big maple tree on the hill, few feet away from him. There, the young girl had warm yellow orange hair that reached down to her waist that was tied up in a braid, rosy cheeks and an innocent and pure expression written on her face. She seemed to be staring afar, not noticing him at all.

"Who are you miss?" he asked as he walked towards her.

She didn't seem to hear him and continued to gaze at the sky, as though searching for something. She was holding a flower arched downward, with small bell-like white flowers under the stem.

Curiously, he tried to reach her out when she turned around and faced him, her expression unchanged. "Is someone there?" she asked softly.

Her voice sounded fragile but strong-willed.

He raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me but what do you mea--?"

The entire surroundings vanished and the two of them were standing in nothingness. He faced her again and realized that she moving away though her body didn't seem to be moving at all. "Miss! Who are you exactly?!" He tried catching up to her but it was no use.

She slowly moved head high and turned towards her direction. Her sapphire eyes dead-looking. "Who are you?"

"Wait! You name!" he shouted. The young girl was about to reply but all of a sudden her whole body got surrounded by light and dispersed into small sparks of light. The only thing left was the flower she was holding. "That's--"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence when the darkness surrounding him captured him and devoured him until nothing was left.

* * *

Seiichi's eyes snapped opened the moment the dream became blank. Slowly, he sat up and ran his fingers through his soft locks, remembering it. _It's that girl again. Who is she?_ He asked him as he got out of his spacious bed and went inside the bathroom where he splashed some water on his face from the sink. He sighed deeply. "She's been in my dreams quite recently yet I do not know her at all."

He checked the time and realized that it's quarter to seven in the morning. Shrugging, he got himself into the shower and took a quick bath.

* * *

"Morning buchou!" Akaya's voice rang across the almost empty tennis grounds.

The Rikkai buchou looked up and smiled in reply. "Good morning too, Akaya. You seemed happy today."

The trickster, who seemed to just arrive shortly after the captain, glanced at the youngest regular. "I was wondering about that since I heard his annoying voice in this time of day." He smirked.

The little demon shot a mean glare at him. "Is there a problem to that, huh?"

Niou nodded automatically. "Yeah, there is. You're annoying just by looking at you and hearing your voice makes it more annoying, puri." He said teasingly.

Akaya pouted. "Mura-buchou! He's teasing me!" He whined.

Seiichi chuckled, patting his head lightly. "That's how he shows affection, Akaya so don't worry about it too much." He said smoothly.

Niou gawked at him. "Affection?! Like that will ever happen."

"Then stop making a ruckus out of it, Masaharu." A familiar voice spoke coolly from behind.

They turned around and saw Hiroshi walking towards them with Yanagi by his side. "Good morning Hiroshi, Renji." Seiichi greeted them.

"Ah." Hiroshi replied. Yanagi looked up and nodded curtly.

The Rikkai Buchou went back on giving the little demon his attention and continued, "So tell me why you are happy today?"

"I didn't sleep in the bus today!" He grinned.

Everyone stared at him. "That's all…?" Niou snorted.

"Yep!"

"That's…a huge accomplishment. Don't you think, Renji?" Seiichi chuckled.

Renji opened his trusty notebook and checked Akaya's profile in ten seconds. "There's slight improvement and in every two to three weeks, he will less likely sleep in the bus while going to the Kantou Region." He said automatically.

"See? I'm improving!" He said proudly.

Niou shrugged. "Whatever. You're still a brat who gets lost easily, nothing more and nothing less."

"Waahh Buchou! He's teasing me again!" Akaya whined.

"There, there."

Renji looked around and asked them, "Where's Genichirou? He's usually the earliest among us, right?"

"He's is already here but right now he's in the faculty room because Oda-sensei wanted to talk to him for some reason." Seiichi told him.

"Hmm…interesting."

"Where's Bunta and Jackal?" Niou wondered. "Shouldn't they be here right now? It's already 7:30."

"Jackal called awhile ago and said that he's waiting Bunta to finish eating." Hiroshi told them.

"He woke up late, huh?" the trickster smirked. "Let's give him a bit of punishment for making Jackal wait for him." He suggested evilly.

"Masaharu."

"Yes mother."

"It doesn't matter, let's start practicing. 40 laps around the court." Seiichi ordered and the rest complied.

* * *

The day went by smoothly than expected. Marui and Jackal arrived 15 minutes late and Sanada commanded the self-proclaimed tensai to run 80 laps and 30 laps for the Brazilian. As soon as class started, the Rikkai buchou didn't have any problems and just did what he usually do everyday: listening to the teacher's lectures, reciting in class, doing class activities, kindly declining the bentos his fangirls made for him, and attending and supervising tennis practices.

At 5:17pm, tennis practice was over and all of the members went home. Seiichi was in the middle of returning his tennis racket when Renji suddenly spoke. "Excuse me?" he asked, looking slightly surprised about what the data-gatherer said just now.

"You seemed distracted…let me rephrase that. You seemed distant. Is there something bothering you?" Renji asked.

He shook his head and smiled at him. "Of course not."

"You may be a good liar but you cannot lie to me. We've known each other since junior high." The data-gatherer said indifferently.

The Rikkai buchou sighed. "I'll tell you but you might think that I'm delirious."

"Just tell."

And so he told him about his frequent encounter with the young girl in his dreams. After 3 minutes of telling him, he said finally, "She kept on appearing in my dreams and she seemed really…I don't know. What do you think?"

"She might be someone you met in the past or you might be haunted by a ghost which is very unlikely for that to happen." He said casually.

"But I don't remember meeting someone like her. Is she even real?"

"What do you think?" a sly voice spoke. It was Niou.

"Masaharu, what do you mean by that?" Renji questioned him.

"Well, does she seem real enough for you? Or do you think she's just a thing in your imagination? You have to think about it. There is a saying that dreams are connected to reality, or so they say." Niou said coolly.

Seiichi thought for a moment and answered. "She seems real but I don't believe in those sayings." He stood up and carried his bag. "Let's just go."

"Puri."

* * *

While walking, they passed by a park on their left where quite a few people hung out. The three regulars walked together, talking about the upcoming matches when Seiichi stopped abruptly, staring at something. "Oi buchou?" Niou called him, trying to get his attention but to no use.

"She's real." He muttered.

Niou and Renji looked at each other. "You mean that girl you're talking about?" the trickster asked him.

Renji looked as well and saw the person sitting on a bench with a golden retriever as a companion. "Is she that person?" he asked, pointing at her direction.

Niou glanced closely and whistled. "She passed my standards." He smirked.

Seiichi didn't reply and just walked towards the said person, wanting to know more about the mysterious girl. The two regulars didn't speak for a while and just decided to follow him, curious as well.

* * *

_**Chappie two here. **_

_**Yukimura's personality just now is not OOC. It states that he's kind and gentle by nature but when he's in the courts playing, he's a demon. I'm still not certain about their personalities and noticed some similarities in the fics I've read here so I've made them into a bit of a reference for me.**_

_**Niou's still Niou and Akaya's a brat, lol. Hiroshi's cool and mature and Renji's a psychic. Lol that's not true but it seems like it, don't you think? Marui and Jackal will enter the picture in the next chapter and might shed some more light into Yukimura's life.**_

_**Please review. **_


	3. About her

Kaori tossed a tennis ball a bit far and her dog ran towards, catching it in midair with its mouth and returned it to her while wagging its tail enthusiastically. Kaori smiled. "Good boy, Ichiro." She patted her dog on the head, massaging it gently but stopped because she heard footsteps getting nearer towards her direction. _They're coming this way I think…_, she thought to herself as she listened closely. Her hands shook a bit.

When the footsteps stopped, she held her breath.

Yukimura stood in front of her, gazing at her. He couldn't believe that she would be real and curiosity began building up inside him. Before he could even speak, the girl spoke first.

"Is someone there?"

He blinked. _This happened in the dream before._ "Excuse me but what is your name miss?" he asked inaudibly.

Kaori distinctively flinched just by hearing his voice. _Oh my gosh…it's a male. What am I going to do? Do I know him? _"Who are you?" she reluctantly asked.

He noticed that she wasn't facing him directly so he asked back, "Why aren't you looking at me?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know what you mean." She stood up, still looking away.

"Oi missy he's asking you nicely, you know." Niou cutted in.

She back away a bit, trying to feel around her by using her senses as hard as she could. "I do not like to speak to strangers so please leave me alone." She said bravely.

"Well, you're speaking to us." Niou smirked.

Kaori's mind was looking for a good way to get out of this mess. Then, an idea sprang into her mind. _I hope this works._

Renji, who was standing not far away from them, noticed something about her and was about to tell this to the other two when the young girl raised her hand and pointed behind them, shouting and sounding surprised, "Isn't that Nana Kitade?!"

Niou, who is always a ladies' man and a total flirt, looked back, pulling Yukimura as well and exclaimed, "Really? Where is she?"

Kaori took this chance and held Ichiro by the leash and whispered, "Lead the way, Ichiro." The dog wagged its tailed and complied, jogging towards a crowd of people and guided the blind girl safely away from the three men.

Shortly after the so-called commotion, Niou pouted. "Nana-chan's not here." He looked back to face the young girl but noticed that she no longer was there. "Where is she?!" he gawked.

Renji sighed deeply. "She left right after you looked back."

"And you know this? Why didn't you stop her?" the trickster questioned him.

"It's inappropriate. And besides," Renji said simply.

"What?" Niou wondered. Yukimura didn't speak and just listened.

"Didn't you notice that she's sightless?" the data gatherer said finally.

"She's…sightless?" Yukimura repeated, looking slightly surprised.

Niou whistled. "How do you know that she's blind?"

"Two reasons. Firstly, she's not directly looking at Seiichi when talking to him. Secondly, she had a dog as a companion and it's obvious that the dog is trained to assist and guide sight-impaired people." He explained coolly.

"Oh." Niou nodded. He turned his attention towards the Rikkai Buchou and asked, "So she's blind…does that answer your curiosity about your dream? You mentioned that she wasn't looking directly at you."

"I suppose but I didn't manage to get her name. Pity." He chuckled.

"Oi buchou! Even Niou and Renji's here!" a familiar voice spoke few feet away.

The three regulars turned around and saw the Marui and Jackal. "Why are you here?" the trickster questioned them.

"I'm going to meet a friend here and introduce her to Jackal here." Marui said bluntly as he popped his gum.

Niou smiled slyly. "Really? Who's the girl?"

The self-proclaimed genius frowned. "Yeah and I'm not gonna let someone like you get to know her." He said haughtily.

"Aren't you protective of that girl? So, do you know where she is? We might be able to help you…" He suggested.

"Niou…" Jackal warned.

"Fine. I won't go near her within five feet. Happy?" he huffed, his arms crossed.

Mrui contemplated for a while and nodded finally. "She's this tall and had long yellow orange hair tied up in a braid. She got sapphire-coloured eyes and she's with a golden retriever." He described.

Niou, Renji and Yukimura stared at him in disbelief.

Marui eyed on them. "What's with that look?"

"That girl you're describing is her?!" the trickster exclaimed.

"Yeah, she is and do you know where she is?" Marui said irritably.

Ranji interrupted. "Apparently, we did. She was sitting on this bench shortly before you came."

"Really? Where did she go?" Marui asked brightly.

"We don't know. She kind of…ran away." Seiichi told him.

"What do you mean by that?!"

Renji sighed and just explained to him what happened. After that, he left Marui gaped at them, looking really shocked. "You scared her, that's what happened!" he bellowed.

"Hey it's not like we did on purpose! Buchou wanted to talk to her!" Niou hissed.

"I'm sorry, Bunta." Seiichi apologized. "It's just that…"

Marui popped his gum yet again. "Yeah…your dream, huh? I understand. Curiosity got the better of you…"

"That is true." He smiled. "So, will you tell what her name is? I wasn't able to get it."

"Ogawa Kaori. She's my childhood friend, if you want to know." Marui said indifferently.

"And you know that she's blind?" the trickster asked.

"She's not really blind from the very beginning. It started at the age of 7 and by the time the both of us entered junior high, her parents pulled her out from school and since then she started home studying until now." He told them.

"Did she get on an accident?" Jackal wondered.

The red head shook his head. "It's a rare disease in the eye. It affects to people at a young age and as the person grows, the person's eyesight weakens until they're completely blind by the time they're 30 but I guess Kaori-chan's case is a bit different because she's gone sightless before going 30."

"It must be hard for her."

"Not really. She said that she's doing really fine. So, tell how did she manage to get away from you?" Marui asked them.

"She pointed something behind us and shouted, 'Is that Nana Kitade?!' and ran off as soon as Niou looked away." Seiichi chuckled.

The trickster flushed.

Marui guffawed. "I can't believe that she got you fooled! You're a total idiot! You're worse than Akaya!"

"Why you--!"

"You two cut it out or you'll be running 300 laps tomorrow, I can assure you of that." Seiichi shot them a you'll-be-suffering-if-you-two-don't-stop-that glare.

The two regulars stopped abruptly and nodded vigorously. "So what are you going to do now, Marui?" Renji said inquiringly.

"Oh you mean about Kaori-chan? I guess she went home already." Marui said thoughtfully.

"Aren't you worried? She's sightless you remember?" Jackal frowned at him.

"She may be blind but you'll be surprised about her. She's with Ichiro and that dog's a good guardian and Masahiro-san must've seen her before going out of the park." Marui said coolly.

"Who's Masahiro?" Renji asked yet again.

"Kaori-chan's personal driver and guardian when going outside." Marui said exasperatedly. "Will you guys stop asking questions about her? I had a feeling that you want to know her more…"

"Actually, we did." Niou smirked. "She sounds interesting, ne Mura buchou?"

Seiichi didn't say anything back and walked away. "Let's just go home, minna. We'll be practicing hard tomorrow and I won't be showing any mercy to any of you, understand?" He said gently with seriousness mixed.

"Of course." Niou smirked.

"Ah." Renji said curtly while Jackal nodded once.

"We heard you." Marui popped his gum.

The other regulars didn't stand any longer and followed their captain. Seiichi, on the other hand, continued to smile and he thought to himself, _I'm sure I'm going to meet her again._

_**I researched at bit about eye disease or disorders and after reading a couple of times, I've decided to use **__**Leber Congenital Amaurosis**__** because I think it's good enough and that it has a good treatment…but you know…it takes a while for it to effect, right?**_

_**I've searched the net for more Japanese names and I got really confused about Kaori's meaning because first off the meaning is **__**Beautiful Fragrant girl**__** for girls but then there's this other site that says that Kaori's meaning is **__**Add a man's strength**__** and it's for males…It's confusing. If one of you readers is Japanese, please enlighten me.**_

_**Explanation about how she knows Nana Kitade will be on the next chapter, lol. And Nana Kitade's a real person and she's one of the popular female singers in Japan and I am one of her fans, lol. Please Review!**_


	4. He said what!

Kaori sighed in relief. She was inside of the limo with her dog Ichiro lying on the seat beside her. As soon as she ran away from those suspicious men, she was soon found by her driver/guardian Masahiro at the entrance. "Dear miss, did you meet with Bunta-san?" the driver asked politely, looking at her from the mirror.

She shook her head slowly, looking a bit sad. "I wasn't because some guys came up to me and asked me my name…I got scared and ran off as soon as possible. I hope Bunta-kun isn't mad at me." She told him.

"I'm sure he'll understand you, dear miss. Let's go back to the mansion."

"Yes."

After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the Ogawa Mansion. The blind girl felt the handle and pulled it, opening the door for herself. She got out slowly, assisted by Masahiro and went inside the house, greeted by the maids inside. "Miss Kaori, your friend Marui Bunta called just now. He says he wanted to talk to you." Ami, her personal maid, informed her.

Kaori nodded and said, "Please call him now. I would like to speak to him."

"Right away miss."

When she arrived in her room, the maid assisted her in sitting down on the bedside and took a cordless phone, dialling the self-proclaimed tensai's home number. In a short while, someone answered the phone. "Marui's residence, Bunta speaking. Who is this?"

Ami handed the phone gently on Kaori's hand and left the room briskly, giving her privacy. "It's me Bunta-kun, Kaori." She spoke.

"Kaori?! I didn't get to see you at the park!"

"I'm sorry…it's just that--"

"--some guys came to you and asked your name?" Marui's voice chuckled from the other line.

"Eh? How did you know that?" Kaori questioned him.

"Actually, the ones who talked to you are my teammates I've mentioned you way back from Junior High until now." He told her.

"Oh I see…so, why did you call me?"

"I almost forgot about it!" Marui said suddenly, earning a giggle from her. "I was thinking of introducing you to my teammates this week. Is that all right with you?"

"Really? That sounds really nice. How about this Thursday? Your practice ends early at that day, right?" she suggested.

"Thursday's good. Where do you want to meet up?"

"I don't mind anywhere. How about you?"

"How about the Jufuku-ji in Kamakura? We usually go there when were kids, right?"

Kaori's lips curved into a small smile. "Sure. What time?"

"Hmm…4:35pm. Is that alright with you?"

"Hai." She said happily.

"Hey Kaori-chan, you'd better listen to me closely on this one. I'm going to tell you bit of information about my teammates so that you'll be ready when I introduce them to you. There are eight of us in the team. We have a first year named Kirihara Akaya and he's a total idiot. He always sleeps in the bus and whines a lot since Junior High so if he tries to get to your good side, avoid him at all costs."

"O-okay…"

"Then there's Kuwahara Jackal. He's a good guy, really. Actually, he's the one I'm supposed to introduce to you moments ago. He's part Brazilian and you can be friends with him. And Yagyuu Hiroshi's a good guy too…he's always a gentleman around anyone, whether male or female but I still doubt his sexuality."

"Eh why?"

"Because he always hangs out with Niou Masaharu. Speaking of this guy, I'm telling you this and keep this in mind. _Never let yourself be with him alone at all times_. He's a total flirt and he likes to fool around with girls…He may sound kind but in fact he's a pervert. Be warned."

"I will…I guess." Kaori sweat dropped. _It sounds like he's badmouthing almost everyone in the team except for Jackal-san._

"Next is Yanagi Renji and he's one of the sannin bakemono of our team. He likes to calculate things and most of the time he does not speak that much. He's an oddball if you ask me but you can be friends with him. Oh yeah, if you're with Sanada Genichirou, he's the fukubuchou of our team and man, he's damn strict! Sorry about that…"

"Oh it's okay…"

"Anyway, fukubuchou a total demon and he always frowns…actually, he looks like 30 years old! He always likes us to see us suffer and he bitch slaps us when we lose a game and he usually shouts 'Tarundarou!' when he caught us goofing off. I guess he's a nice guy but he's dead boring…he acts like an old man, really."

"I'm sure he's not that boring…"

"Okay lastly but not the least is Yukimura Seiichi and he's our buchou. He's really gentle and kind towards everyone and pretty much he's a overall good student since he's the student council president of our school and almost all of the girls in school go ga-ga over him…you can be friends with him if you like but seriously, the way he acts is likes he's a girl…I also doubt his sexuality…"

"I think you doubt all of their sexuality, Bunta-kun…" Kaori pointed out.

"And that's everyone! And I'm excited to meet you again though almost every week we actually meet each other but you know, you're my best friend and I promise to visit you since junior high, right?" Marui said finally, not hearing her at all.

"Yes. You're still kind to me…"

"So I'll tell the guys about it. See you on Thursday, Kaori-chan."

"See you too."

* * *

"So tell me why we're here again?" Akaya asked the redhead annoyingly.

Marui shot him a glare and answered, "Because you and the others promised to come with me and introduce yourselves to my best friend today and ask that question again for the 12th time and you're dead meat."

The first year rolled his eyes. "Right, as if you can."

Yukimura walked up to him behind and whispered kindly and at the same time threateningly to his ear, "You'd better behave yourself when you meet her or you'll suffer tomorrow's afternoon practice."

Akaya gulped and replied quickly, "Of course I'll behave buchou!"

They were at the Jufuku-ji at Kamakura and they arrived there 5 minutes early and they were waiting for the self-proclaimed tensai's friend to come. Two minutes after the meeting time, they heard a bark and footsteps from the stairs. "She's here!" Marui said brightly.

The whole team except Akaya noticed the changing mood of the redhead and noted that he had something with his best friend. "Aww Marui's like a five year-old…tell me, you a crush on her, don't you?" Niou teased him.

Marui flushed and glared at him but to no avail he just said quickly, "She's my best friend and the two of us haven't seen each other for quite a while!"

"So you're saying that you've been meeting her almost every week?" Hiroshi's asked him amusingly.

"S-shut up!"

_He's obvious._ His teammates thought to themselves.

Soon, they heard a female voice speaking. "31…32…33…34…35!" She finally arrived at the top, a smile on her lips. She held the golden retriever by a blue leash and the dog barked happily as it wagged its tail excitedly. She wore a violet and light violet stripped shirt, beige-coloured puff shorts and purple and white striped high leg socks that covered most of her legs, three inches apart from the shorts, and black shoes.

Ichiro looked up and saw Marui, barking.

"Ichiro! Come here boy!" Marui called the dog to him.

The dog complied and went to him, guiding Kaori at the same time.

"Good boy!" Marui grinned while petting him. "Kaori-chan, you arrived late."

"Eh? I'm sorry Bunta-kun." She said sadly.

The self-proclaimed tensai smirked. "I'm just joking. You arrived here two minutes after the meeting time…you're not that late. Anyway, you look great. Did Ami-san chose the clothes for you?"

Kaori nodded. "She did. Are you sure it looks okay with me?" She shyly asked.

"Of course. Anyway, we should let Ichiro roam around for a while. I'm going to introduce to you to my teammates." He held her hand and both of them walked together, Marui assisting her. "Ne minna, she's Ogawa Kaori and you'd better be kind to her. Especially _you_ Niou." He told them.

"Yo/Pleasure to meet you/Ah/We meet again/So you're his friend/Hn/Nice to meet you, Kaori-san." They greeted at the same time.

Though she cannot see them, she bowed to them politely and greeted back, "My name is Ogawa Kaori and it's a pleasure to meet you, Bunta-kun's teammates."

"So you remember me, Ka-o-ri-chan." Niou smirked, taking her hand and shaking it gently.

"Umm…yes." Kaori said slowly, remembering what Marui told her few days ago.

"Hey stop that!" Marui said annoyingly, flared up.

"What's up with you? I'm just talking to her." The trickster said teasingly.

"Bunta-kun, it's okay…he didn't do anything bad like you said." Kaori said quietly.

The gentleman and the rest of the team heard her and asked, "What do you mean, Kaori-san?" Hiroshi asked her politely.

"W-well, Bunta-kun told me something about you guys one day when I talked to him few days ago…" Kaori trailed off.

Marui felt something bad was going to happen so he butted in and said quickly, "It's nothing special! I'm just telling her about you guys. Nothing bad about it, is there?"

Yanagi and Hiroshi glanced at each other and the data-expert said, "Of course there's nothing wrong about."

"So Kaori-san, what did Marui talked about us?" the gentleman said inquiringly.

"I'm going to tell you guys instead of her--"

"Bunta, let her." The Rikkai buchou gave him a I'll-punish-you-if-you-don't-keep-yourself-quiet look.

"W-well…he told me about Akaya-san…" she started.

"What about me?" Akaya perked up.

"He said that you're…umm…an…an…"

"What?! Tell me!"

"He said that you're a total idiot! He added that you whine a lot!" She answered quickly.

Everyone stared at her then to the self-proclaimed tensai who was shaking.

"Anything else?" the gentleman asked.

"Umm…Jackal-san's a good guy, he said. And Yagyuu-san's a gentleman and added that he doubted his sexuality because he always hangs out with Niou-san…and Niou-san's a natural pervert and that he should never be trusted at all times…then Yanagi-san's an odd person and Sanada-san's an old man. And then Yukimura-san's a good guy too but he said that he doubts his sexuality because of his actions…that's all." She told them.

Everyone stared at her again and turned their attention to Marui, shooting glares at him. "So I'm an idiot?" Akaya's voice shook.

"And I'm gay because Masaharu's with me most of the time?" the gentleman's glasses glint.

"A pervert, you say? So that's how you think about me huh?" the trickster said maliciously.

"I'm odd…? That's an overstatement, Bunta." Yanagi said quietly.

"Marui." Sanada glared at him.

"Is that how you think of me, Bunta? I never knew…" the Rikkai Budhou chuckled, a dark aura surrounding him.

"A-ah…it's not what you think…" Marui said shakily.

"At least he said that I'm a good guy." Jackal shrugged but everyone else ignored him for a while.

Kaori can tell that she said something that upset them so unconsciously she grabbed Yukimura's sleeves and tugged it a bit. Seiichi looked and gaze down at her, curious. "Please don't punish Bunta-kun…I know that not everything he told me is true and he only did that because he cares a lot for my safety so please don't." she said softly.

Surprisingly, his face softened and replied, "Ah. I promise." He faced the self proclaimed genius and said genuinely, "You're lucky today, Bunta. You should be thankful that Kaori-san is here, ne minna?"

"Buchou's right. You're just plain lucky this time." Niou hissed.

"Spread unsought information like that next time, you'll know what's going to happen to you." Hiroshi said sternly.

"And you won't like it." Akaya growled.

Marui pouted and then hugged the young girl tightly, "Kaori-chan you're such a life-saver! I'll never leave you ever again!" He said thankfully.

"You're embracing me too much…"

"Oi she can't breathe, Bunta." Jackal told him.

"Ah sorry Kaori-chan!" He quickly let go of her and blushed a bit. "Anyway, what do you want to do?" he asked her enthusiastically.

"I want Takoyaki for some reason…"

"There's a nearby stall. Want to go now, Kaori-chan?" Niou offered his hand to her.

She nodded. "Let's go…Niou-san, right?" she asked audibly.

"Ah. You guessed right." He then took her hand and both of them walked first.

Marui whistled hard and the dog returned. He tied the leash to Ichiro's collar and followed them, watching her best friend closely because of fear from the trickster's plans. The rest followed, feeling rather hungry as well. Seiichi, walking side by side with Yanagi and Sanada, glanced at Kaori who was having a good time talking to Niou, tried to remember a certain fleeting feeling he felt few moments ago but he can't seem to grasp it again. Sighing, he decided to forget about it and enjoyed everything that was going to happen.

Of course, he won't forget the thing Marui did so he thought of a good enough punishment for the regular. Chuckling, he finally thought of one.

* * *

_**Chapter four here! Marui's such a bad boy!**_

_**What do you think about the way he describes his teammates?! He's exaggerating them too much, don't you think? Well, I think he did it big time! Hmmm I'm thinking of something exciting here to add more drama in the upcoming chapters but the drama starts around chapter 9-11 so right now until chapter 8, you'll be having humour and slight romance!!**_

_**Thanks for the wonderful reviews and alerts! Again, Please review!**_


	5. Interrrogation

"What?! You're not kidding?!" Marui said in a shocked expression. He was talking to someone with his cellphone and it seemed important. "Okay. I get it. I'll be seeing you later." After ending the call, he looked grimly at Kaori. "Kaori-chan," he called.

"What is it, Bunta-kun?" she asked, noting that he sounded rather upset. Marui, her and Seiichi were walking together. The other regulars left earlier since they live rather far from them.

"Something came up. Mom wanted me to come home early because…well, on important matters." He said bitterly. "So, I can't walk you home. Sorry about that."

"Oh." She seemed a bit upset as well but she smiled for him instead. "It's okay. I understand you. You'd better go now."

"But how about you?" then, an idea sprang inside his brain and gave Seiichi a knowing look.

The Rikkai buchou seemed to know what he's going to say.

"Ne buchou, why don't you walk Kaori-chan home? You live somehow near to her house, you know." Marui said nonchalantly.

Kaori blushed when she heard him. "But Bunta-kun--"

"Come on, you can't let her walk home alone, you know. Even if Ichiro's with her, you can't expect the poor dog to defend her, right? Please…" he insisted, giving him his best pout and puppy eyes on him.

He looked at him reluctantly then at Kaori beside him. He sighed deeply. "If you insist but you'll be running laps tomorrow and no excuses. Is that clear?" he said sternly.

Marui saluted. "Of course! Just as long as you get her home safely and you won't be doing anything _bad_ to her…" he trailed off.

"Bunta…"

"Just saying." He checked the time on his watched and gasped. "Crap! I'm going to be late! Kaori-chan, take care of yourself, okay?!" he hugged her quickly and left.

Silence came as soon as the self-proclaimed genius went away. "Umm…thank you for accompanying me." Kaori said quietly, looking slightly embarrassed.

Seiichi put up a smile and said warmly, "It's okay. I understand that Bunta wanted the best for you. Tell me, if you don't mind, are you two together?"

Kaori shook her head quickly and replied, "N-no! He and I are friends! He's been like that to me since we're kids and he always tries his best to make me feel happy."

"I see." After a few minutes, he said, "What does your house look like? Oh I'm sorry for asking."

"Umm…it's okay. Since I became like this, my parents decided not to renovate the house so that I can at least remember what it used to look like. And if I remember correctly, it's the one in white and granite rooftop. It has a balcony in front and there's vines on each side of the entrance door." She described.

"I see. So that's your house. This will be easier. Can I hold your hand? We're going to a shortcut I know."

"S-sure."

Like it seemed natural, he held her hand, and guided her to another direction. Kaori was a bit nervous but she remembered that Marui said about him being an all-round nice person and trusting her best friend's word, she decided to put her trust in him. After a few minutes, she heard him speak. "We're walking upstairs."

She nodded, squeezing his hand a bit.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." He said reassuringly. "Just in case, you need to do 22 steps."

"I understand. Thank you for telling me."

"And off we go." The walked up together, slowly but careful. The blind girl couldn't help but mutter the numbers by each step and Seiichi couldn't help but smile, thinking that it's rather cute of her. "We're finally on top." He told her.

"Okay."

"Now, your house is on the right side. Let's go." He continued to hold her hand up to the point where they're both standing in front of a rather old-style looking mansion. Ichiro started barking in front of the gate.

In a short while, the entrance door sprang open and a man who was older than them by 5-6 years ran towards them, his vermillion hair messed up like he just woke up and his eyes looking a bit strained from exhaustion and stress. "Kaori-chan! You came back! I thought you're not going to come home! I already told Bunta not to let you arrive here at this time--" he stopped rambling at stared at Seiichi for a whole minute. "Who _are_ you?" he questioned him as he eyed on him.

"My name is Yukimura Seiichi--"

"I don't care what your name is, why are you here with my dear sister and not Bunta?" he growled.

Seiichi sweat dropped. "Bunta is my teammate--"

"Yeah right, like I'm going to believe in that." He said sardonically. He noticed that he was holding her sister's hand. "Why are you holding her hand?" he hissed.

"I was only guiding her--" he tried to explain but to no avail, the blind girl's older brother cut him off again.

"Ichiro's with her. There's no need for you to hold her hand."

"I didn't do it on purpose, if that's what you're implying."

"Don't you have a sharp tongue?"

Kaori can tell that her older brother was in overprotective mode so she interrupted their talk. "Kannon-niichan! Don't talk to him like that. He was being kind to you so you should too." She said sadly.

Kannon, who heard her clearly, hastily glanced at her and his face fell in a mere second. "I'm sorry, Kaori-chan! I wasn't being rude to him, really." he insisted.

_You are being rude to me_, Seiichi said mentally as he watched them. "Bunta asked me to accompany her since something came up and he had no choice but to leave." He told him.

"I see. No wonder you're here instead of him." he nodded, calming himself for the sake of his sister. After that, he received a call from his cell phone inside his pocket. He took it out and answered, "Kannon here. Oh Bunta, speak of the devil. Yeah, she's here with someone whose name is Yukimura Seiichi. Is he really your teammate? Really, he is? Ah, good. Good luck on that." He ended the call and sighed deeply. "Sorry for questioning you like that. It's a sibling thing."

"I understand. I'm not offended at all." Seiichi smiled.

"Why don't you come inside and have dinner here? I'm sure Kaori-chan would want that too. Ne Kaori-chan?" he offered.

Kaori nodded. "Please. It's the least I can do for accompanying me."

"I guess it's okay."

"Good good!" they entered inside the mansion, this time Kannon guiding his sister while Seiichi followed behind them, feeling a bit cool.

_Bunta, I'm going to add your laps and I assure that you'll be suffering because of this_, Seiichi said mentally with a smirk on his face.

* * *

"So, you're the captain of the tennis club. That's pretty amazing." Kannon commented as they ate.

"Yes, that is correct."

"I've heard some stories about you and the other regulars on the team. You seemed like an interesting bunch." He continued, sipping tea. "From what I've heard, you got hospitalized by the time of the nationals because of your illness. To have such a condition, I'm quite impressed that you're still able to play tennis. It's a rigorous sport, after all."

"True, but I've been playing it since I was young so it's impossible for me to leave." He answered.

"Tell me, do you have a girlfriend right now?" he asked him suddenly.

"No. I do not think of having one until I've entered college, that is." He said easily.

"Smart move." Kannon smirked.

"I always set my priorities first before anything else." He said coolly.

"My my, you sound…admirable." He chuckled, earning a questioningly look. "It's just rare to meet guys like you who are…well, like you. Most teenagers today seemed like all they ever cared is having a girlfriend and it's upsetting, really."

"Is it because of Kaori-san?"

"That's right. I'm still looking for a good-enough doctor to help her get her eyesight back. I want nothing more than her happiness."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do you think Bunta treats your sister as a friend or more than that?"

Kannon, who sipped tea again, gagged a bit. "Excuse me? Bunta liking my sister? Impossible. Even god knows that. The two of them were the best of friends since the two of them met and as far as I observed your teammate's actions, he seemed to care for her like a sibling would." He told him.

"I see."

"Why did you ask that kind of question? Did you notice something?" he asked quickly.

"No, not really. the two of them seemed really close, that's all."

"Ah right. Friendship always get misinterpret for attraction or intimacy." He said heartily.

"That's true." He checked the time and realized that it's already 9:22pm. He stood up. "I'd better be going now."

Kannon stood up as well. "I'll walk you outside."

"There's no need to." He bowed shortly and added, "Please tell Kaori-san good night."

"Ah. I will." As soon as the rikkai buchou left, he sighed deeply. "I know you're there, Kaori-chan."

Slowly, the blind girl appeared behind a wall, wearing her sleeping clothes. "I'm sorry onii-chan."

"It's okay. He seems like a good guy. Tell me, you like him?" he teased her.

"No! I just met him!" she shook her head furiously.

"Oh really? He looks like that type that can make a girl go head over heels with a snap of his fingers." He said in a singsong voice.

"Don't judge him like that."

"Anyway, how much did you hear?" he asked her.

"From the part where Yukimura-san asked about the relationship between Bunta and I." she said timidly.

"And your comment about it?"

"I understand why he asked that. Tennis is important for them and he's just worried about his teammate." She said calmly.

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

Kannon sighed in relief. _You're still young and innocent_. "Go back to sleep, Kaori-chan." He said gently.

"Okay."

"Ami, guide her back to her bedroom." He told the maid.

"Of course, Kannon-sama." Ami bowed.

Kannon walked to her side and whispered, "Didn't I tell you not to call me that? Just Kannon, okay?"

"H-hai, K-kannon-san."

He sighed yet again. "Good night Kaori-chan, Ami."

"Good night onii-chan." She said. _He sounds a bit upset. I wonder what happened._

* * *

_**Sorry for the wait! **_

_**I've been busy for the past few days and I just…well, I've been paranoid about college stuffs! Life is soo hard nowadays and I need to pull myself back together again! Please review for me! Do you think that Kannon had a certain attraction to Kaori's personal maid, Ami? What do you think? Hmmm i think you all know the answer behind that question, right? Good! Again, please review! **_

**_Oh yeah, almost forgot. Ami was a daughter of a close friend of the Ogawas' but then a tragic fate happened to her parents and the Ogawas kindly took her in and even wanting to adopt her but Ami declined and decided to make up for their kindness, she wanted to serve them thus she became a maid! Adding up, she's already in her 2nd year of college so yeah, she's a working student. _**


	6. A vase, flower, & an unanswered question

"Hey Marui," Niou called with a questioningly look on his handsome face.

"What is it Niou?" Marui asked as he glanced at him behind his back while doing some handwork. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"I know that you idiot. It's just that…" Niou growled with a vein showing on his forehead. He placed his right hand on the self-proclaimed genius' head and said testily, "What the hell's wrong with you this time, huh? Are you doing pottery in the club room?"

"Yeah and so?" Marui raised an eyebrow.

It was true. Both of them were inside the club room and indeed, Marui Bunta was attempting to do pottery, though it did not seem like he's making any progress. There were specks of mud on the floor and on the wall and the things inside the room like bags, shirts, and racquets became dirty because of it. Right now, Niou was losing his patience. "That's you answer…?" he forced a smile on his face and said threateningly, "Why don't you look at your surroundings, huh? Especially this." He pulled out a shirt that was lying on his tennis bag and made him look at it.

"It's a shirt." Marui said blankly. "So, what about it?"

Because of his answer, Niou had had enough. "You freaking made my shirt dirty, that's why! Do you even know that I was planning to wear this for my date later?!" He bellowed at him.

Marui snorted, going back pottering. "Whatever."

Niou gave him a murderous look and tackled him like there's no tomorrow. He head-locked him tightly and said evilly, "You're going down, you wimp."

Then, the door swung open and Hiroshi and Seiichi entered, their expressions changed for a short span of time when they scanned the room. "Why is this place unkempt?" Seiichi questioned the two regulars who were busy at the moment.

"It's this idiot's fault. He was doing pottery inside and he ruined my shirt!" Niou told him as he continued to torture the self-proclaimed genius.

Hiroshi glanced at Marui's expression and said bluntly to the trickster, "That's enough, Masaharu."

Hearing the gentleman's words, he finally released him. "Pushover." Marui muttered as he massaged the side of his neck.

Seiichi sighed deeply after the checked the room. Mud Clay was almost all over the place. Looking, he finally saw what Marui progressed so far. Scratched that. He finally saw what Marui was trying to make though he did not quite know what it was. "Bunta," he called.

"What is it Buchou?" Marui replied, innocent as ever.

"What are you making?"

"A vase!" He answered enthusiastically while grinning.

"A vase…?" Hiroshi repeated, eyeing on the 'vase' warily. "Are you sure that you're making a vase?"

Marui frowned at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hate to break it to you but it doesn't seem like a vase." Niou said scratchily.

Marui was shocked and shot the Rikkai buchou a pleading look. Seiichi glanced at the object again and said sympathetically, "They're right, Bunta. It doesn't look like a vase at all."

"B-but I've been working on it for more than a hour!" He sobbed.

"That's sad." Niou snorted.

"I wanted to give something different to Kaori-chan for her birthday!" he continued as he sobbed over his 'vase.'

"Birthday?" the other three regulars repeated.

"Yeah. Her birthday's next week." The self-proclaimed genius sniffed.

"Which day?" Seiichi asked.

"Friday." He answered dumbly.

"Is that why you're skipping tennis practice?" the Rikkai buchou continued.

"I didn't mean to! I really want to give her something special this time!" he wailed.

Seiichi looked sideways at Hiroshi and Niou and seemed to think that the three of them were having the same thought. He knelt down, and eyed on the 'vase' then in less than a minute smiled gently and said, "I know someone who can at least teach you how to make a vase."

The redhead slowly looked at him and his frown turned upside down. "Eh really?" He stood up and said happily, "Thank you buchou! You're so kind to me! I'll kiss the ground you walk upon!"

The other three sweat-dropped and Niou said bluntly, "Weirdo, Puri."

* * *

After practice, Seiichi, Marui, Jackal and surprisingly Akaya walked together and went to a rather secluded part of the. In a couple of minute's walk, they finally arrived in front of a rather old but kept place. "Is this the place?" Marui asked carefully as he eyed on the two-story building.

"Ah. Let's go." With the signal from the Rikkai Buchou, they entered inside the store. "Akira-san, are you there?" Seiichi called as he walked toward the counter.

"I'm coming, wait for a short moment please." A rather young male voice replied behind the door and soon after, it opened and there a man who was slightly older than them appeared in front of them. He had black-blue short layered hair, grey eyes behind his rectangular half-frame glasses, and skin like Marui's. Right now, he was wearing a plain white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. "Ah Yukimura-san, it's been a while." He greeted.

"That is true." Seiichi nodded.

"You two know each other?" Marui and Akaya piped up.

"You can say that." Akira said. "I met him when his grandparents and mine met 6 years ago." He told them.

"Ah. So that's why." Akaya nodded. "So you're running this place now?" he questioned him.

"Not really. If I have time, then I'll watch over the place but that usually happens on holidays or on my semester breaks." He chuckled. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Can you teach me how to make a vase?" Marui quickly asked, his eyes gleaming in enthusiasm.

"Teach you?" he repeated. He glanced at Seiichi and nodded, understanding him already. "Okay but I can only teach you for 2 hours. Is that clear?"

"Yeah! Thanks!"

Because of Akira's long patience and dedication, Marui finally learned how to make a simple vase. Akaya joined in as well the teaching session and by no surprise learned faster than the self-proclaimed genius and the demon was rubbing it on him. When they put it inside the oven, Akira said in a tiring tone, "Well, that's done. You did a good job, Marui-san."

"Really! That's great!" Marui jumped up and down, looking as if he was never tired. "Now I can finally give something special to Kaori-chan!"

Akira thought he heard different and asked, "Kaori? You mean Ogawa-san?"

The redhead stopped rejoicing and stared at him. "You know Kaori-chan?" The rest of the regulars didn't say anything and just watched.

"Know her? Yes. She's one of my regular customers." He said casually. "She would always buy a vase or a pot for her flowers." He added.

"Oh really? What else do you know?" Marui asked eagerly.

"I am eight years older than her so I usually see her with a redhead boy back then. Hmmm…were you that kid back then?" He got the answer from the look of his face and continued, "I would always hear you 'I will protect Kaori-chan at all times!' and you looked really cute that's for sure--"

"Stop it!" Marui said loudly, his face red.

"Eh? Are you sure? Don't you want your teammates know about your childhood past?" He asked innocently.

"HELL NO!" He shook his head furiously.

"If you insist." He walked back to the store until he stopped. "Also, if I remembered it correctly, I saw Kaori-san with another boy…he was around your age too, Marui-san." And with that, he entered inside the store without a single word.

A pregnant silence surrounded them. Akaya glanced at the redhead and said teasingly, "I can't believe you said that Marui-sempai. You sound really--"

Marui threw him a handful of mud clay and said tensely, "Say another word you brat and you're going down!" Akaya wiped the clay off him from his face and tackled him and there, the half-harmless brawling occurred. Jackal sighed deeply and walked over them, trying to stop them from clawing each other.

While the three of them were busy with each other, Seiichi was in a state of daze. He was thinking deeply about the last sentence Akira said before entering the store. He did not quite understand it fully but he had a feeling he knew what he was talking about but for some reason, he couldn't remember it.

* * *

Six days later, right after afternoon practice, Marui bounced toward the Rikkai Buchou and greeted him, "Yukimura-buchou!!"

Seiichi, who was having a private talk with Sanada and Renji, turned around and faced him, showing him that he's giving him his full attention. "What is it, Bunta-kun?"

"Since you know all sorts of flowers and you clearly know that I'm not very good at picking flowers at all, can you come with me and help me find the perfect one to match with the vase I made for Kaori-chan?" he said in one breath.

The sannin bakemono stared at him weirdly. "Right now?" Seiichi asked politely.

"Un!" he nodded enthusiastically. "I want to be the first person who'll give her a present!" He said happily, earning stares and odd looks from the people near him.

"I have a student council meeting today. It won't take long, though. You don't mind waiting, right?" he informed him.

Marui looked disappointed at first but brightened in the end. "Of course not! I'll be staying here for a while to kill time, okay?"

"Good. Well, I'll meet you at the front gate after 22 minutes." With a short wave, He walked back inside the building with the other two tennis regulars, since they too are members of the student council. (A/N: I've just made that up! They're the sannin bakemono and since they rule over the tennis club, they should rule over the school too! Eheheh…)

* * *

The meeting ended quite smoothly and the three of them walked out of the building together where they saw Marui actually waiting for them at the front gate. Renji and Sanada bid them and walked off to another direction, leaving the other two alone. "Let's go now!" Marui said excitedly.

"Ah." Seiichi nodded and motioned him to follow. They took a bus and there they waited until after 9 minutes the bus came to halt on one stop and they got out of the vehicle, standing before a nice and decent-looking flower shop. "They have reason prices here." He said nonchalantly as he entered the shop.

When the two of them entered, an old lady popped out from the counter and gave them a smile. "Feel free to look until you find the one that you're looking for."

"Thank you." They nodded as they started looking.

"Ne Buchou, there a lot to choose from. Which one do you think it's best?" Marui asked, popping him gum and chewing it again.

"What does she like?" Seiichi asked back.

"She kept on saying that anything will do for her that's why I wanted to give her something special." Marui answered.

The Rikkai Buchou contemplated for a while and said inquiringly, "When was she born?"

"May 8." He said. "Why?"

"So it's Lily of the Valley." He said.

"Lily of a what?" Marui stared at him.

"Lily of the Valley. That's her birth month flower." He said. _Why does it remind me of something important?_

"So where's that flower?" Marui's voice snapped his mind back to reality.

He gave him a wry smile. "Lily of the Valley is commonly grown in gardens, sadly but Sunflowers will do since they also represent May." He explained.

"Okay…Sunflower it is!" He took a handful but stopped abruptly. "How may sunflowers will I get?" He asked him innocently.

"Four will do." He said, sweat dropping.

"Right!"

* * *

Kaori was in her room, sitting on the edge of the partly-opened window while feeling the breeze on her face when someone knocked the door softly. Not turning her head, she said, "Please do come inside." When the door creaked slightly as it opened, she heard a couple of footsteps and noted to herself that two or three people entered her room.

"Miss Kaori, your friends have come to visit you." Ami informed her as she bowed and took her leave, closing the door quietly.

"Bunta-kun? Is that you?" Kaori asked inaudibly.

"Correct! Mura-buchou is with me too!" Marui said gleefully.

"Oh…hello Yukimura-san." She greeted with a short bow from her.

"Same goes for you, Ogawa-san." The Rikkai Buchou greeted back.

"Okay enough formalities! Kaori-chan! I want to give this to you!" Marui set his bag on top of the table nearby and walked toward her. "Hold this and guess what it is!" He held her hand gently and guided her to hold the gift that was meant for her.

Kaori touched the object that was given to her and tried to decipher it. In less than two minutes, she finally spoke. "Is this a vase?" she asked.

"You got it right! It's a present for you!" he said brightly.

A smile formed on her lips and replied, "Thank you."

"Guess what? I made the vase myself!" He said proudly.

"Really?" she asked, sounding really surprised.

"Yep! Oh yeah, I also bought flowers! It's sunflower!" He picked up a bouquet and gave it to her as he took the vase.

"It's too much…" she said.

"True. Mura-buchou said that four flowers will do but I bought a bouquet instead. But it's okay! I was able to make the vase and choose the flower because of Buchou! He really helped me! I really want to give you something special for your birthday!" Marui told her.

"Is that so? Thank you Yukimura-san." She thanked the rikkai buchou politely.

"You don't need to thank me. I'm just glad that you like them." He said kindly.

"Ne Kaori-chan, do you know a guy named Akira from a pottery store?" The self-proclaimed genius wondered.

"Yes. He was really kind and he would always watch over me when Kannon-niisan was busy." She nodded.

"Really? Yukimura-buchou's friends with him, that's all." Then, he remembered something. "Oh yeah, he said something that you were with a boy when we were kids. Do I know him? What's his name?" he said inquiringly.

Kaori tried to focus and said slowly. "He was in the neighbourhood…and I was lost because I tried to follow you. He was smiling so kindly and he helped me go back home…but that was also the last time I saw him. I…forget his name." she said finally. "I'm sorry if I can't remember everything…it's a bit blurry."

Marui patted her on the head and said sympathetically, "It's okay. You don't need to force yourself. I'm just wondering, you know." He felt his stomach grumbling and added, "Ne Kaori-chan, can I have some food?"

Kaori giggled a bit and nodded.

"I'll be right back guys so don't worry. I just need to refuel myself." He said jokingly as he stood up and went toward the door and left.

Right after he left, Yukimura and Kaori didn't speak because they don't know what to say to each at all since they've just met few weeks ago and hardly had they know each other. "Umm…" Kaori started. "About the flowers…thank you." _I sound so stupid…what's wrong with me?_

The Rikkai Dai buchou blinked when she spoke and just replied kindly, "Like I said before, you don't need to thank me. I was just helping my teammate."

"But still…"

"Actually, we shouldn't have given you sunflowers…they were only a substitute." He mentioned. "We planned on giving you Lily of the Valley but the flower shop doesn't sell them."

"Oh I see."

He glanced at her and thought of telling her the dream he had about her but he decided not to because he might scare her. Then, he just heard her spoke again to him. "Are you staring at me?" He was simply taken aback and said calmly, "No."

The blind girl frowned and pouted. "You are staring at me."

He chuckled and said, "I'm not and I'm honest about it. I was just thinking about something."

She didn't say anything back at the moment and nodded slowly. "What are you thinking about?"

Seiichi was about to tell her when the door swung open and Marui entered with a tray full of sweets and cakes and other pastries imaginable. "Sorry for the long wait! Kaori-chan's refrigerator's full of sweets so I took some! You don't mind, right?" He said happily.

"Of course not." Kaori smiled.

"Yay! Let's dig in!"

When the self-proclaimed genius started gobbling the food that's nearest to him, Seiichi let out a small silent sigh. _Maybe when it's the right time, I'll tell her about it. For now, I'll get to know her._ He took a piece of cream puff and took a bite from it.

* * *

_**Sorry for the long wait, guys!**_

_**Chapter's 6 is here and I hope you like it! My finals are over and I can relax for three whole weeks! Booyah! This is mostly about Marui being childish and stubborn and Seiichi being kind and thoughtful but you know, a chapter's a chapter. I'll try to put more romance in the next chapter…and I might really put a Love Triangle here.**_

_**Again, sorry for the long wait! Love you guys and please review for me!**_


	7. Slow Familiarization

Seiichi was sitting on one of the benches in the park, feeding the pigeons some bread crumbs while thinking of something deeply. He noticed that week by week he kept on seeing her and not that he minded it but he whenever they did, he would have the urge to tell her about the dream he had about her. Sadly, he had also thought about the bad side and that would mean she might think of him as someone he was not. Still in thought, he didn't see a golden retriever approaching him.

When the dog barked, he snapped back to reality and saw him. "Ichiro…?" he called. The dog barked again while wagging its tail. "So that means…"

"Ichiro! Where are you?" a familiar voice called out the dog's name.

Seiichi looked up and around and saw Kaori sitting on a bench not far from where he's seating, looking slightly worried. He glanced back at Ichiro and the dog simply barked at him enthusiastically and looked as though he wanted him to greet his master. Smiling faintly, he went to her with the dog.

Ichiro went back to his master barked once to inform her that he arrived. "Where did you walk off to? I was worried you know…" she muttered to her pet as she patted him on the head lightly.

The dog barked yet again, wanting to tell her something but sadly she couldn't understand him. He then turned towards Seiichi's direction and barked. _Talk to her! _Ichiro said in dog language.

Seiichi sat beside her and said gently, "Hello Ogawa-san."

She gasped a bit and replied, "Yukimura-san? Is that you?"

"Hai. Your dog approached me few minutes ago and ordered me to greet you." He said jokingly to her.

"So that's why he left." She giggled a bit. "Are you taking a stroll here at the park?"

"Not really. I was thinking about some things." He said slowly as he stared at the clear sky.

"What were you thinking?" she asked.

He thought for a moment whether he should tell her and said finally, "It's not that important."

"Oh okay."

After two minutes of complete silence, they said together, "Ne," Seiichi blinked once and said calmly, "You should go first."

Kaori flushed a bit and shook her head slightly. "Oh no. You should be first."

"Ladies first, Ogawa-san." He said softly and persistently.

Kaori frowned for a short while and let out a soft sigh. "I was wondering if you want to eat with me…I mean if you don't mind at all!" she said quickly, a blush started to spread across her face.

He simply watched her ramble and chuckled. "I was feeling a bit hungry. Let's go, shall we?"

Hearing his answer, a smile graced on her lips and she nodded. "I want some parfait."

* * *

"I don't get it," Akaya grumbled.

"What do you mean by that, idiot?" Niou said indifferently.

A vein appeared on the kouhai's forehead and he pointed an accusing finger at the trickster and said angrily, "Why am I with you of all days?! It's a weekend dammit!"

Niou snorted as he put his right hand on Akaya's head and ruffled his head roughly. "It's your problem, not mine and don't point you wimp."

He tried to swat his hand away but failed and stuck his tongue out at him. "Like I'm going to listen to you, Niou."

"Respect your sempai or you'll pay the price very dearly." The trickster growled as he head-locked him. "And if you're wondering why we're together today is that Sanada ordered us to buy some new grip tape and if we were not able to buy them any sooner, you'll know what will happen, _right?_"

The little demon shuddered at the sudden thought and said quickly, "Okay I get it now!"

"Good." Niou finally let go of him and walked off towards the direction of the sports store when he stopped abruptly.

Akaya, who followed him from behind, didn't see him stop and because of that, he hit himself against the trickster's back. "Hey why did you freaking stop?!" he complained.

"Puri." He said as he pointed on a couple sitting together in front of the ice cream parlour.

Akaya turned his direction and eyed on the couple closely and after a minute had past, his jaw fell. "It's Yukimura-buchou and that girl!" he said incredulously.

"Keep your voice down, you idiot." Niou hissed as he pulled him down with him.

"Why would I listen to you, huh?" Akaya said stubbornly as tried to stand up but failed miserably.

"Can't you see that they're dating? You're such a total dumbass." The trickster told him as he craned his head to look at what's happening.

"Dating? I know Mura-buchou's popular with all sorts of idiotic girls ever existed on earth but he's not an idiot to date a girl---" He snorted.

Niou hit him on the back of his head and said, "But what's different is that she's doesn't know what Seiichi looks like. Understand now, dumbo?"

"But I don't see why the two of them would date---"

"When I see that it's a date, it's a date so shut the hell up and watch them like a hawk." He ordered him. "On second thought, why don't you buy the tape while I watch them?"

"Why would I do that? Go buy them yourself!" Akaya whined. As they argued, the people passing by watched them carefully and weirdly.

* * *

Seiichi glanced sideways when Kaori called him. "Yes?"

"You became quiet all of a sudden. Did something happen just now?" she wondered as she slowly scooped a small portion of the parfait she ordered.

"I just thought that someone called out my name." he said casually.

"Same here. I may have imagined someone shouted 'It's Yukimura-buchou and that girl!' not far from here." She told him.

"That's what I've heard." He said. The two of them didn't speak for a while and then they said together, "Must be our imagination." They talked a bit more until both of them finished the food they've ordered. Seiichi offered his hand to her and both of them walked together. As they walked, he asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"I'm not sure." She said thoughtfully. "Any idea?"

"How about the sea?" He smiled. (A/N: Ichiro was sent back to the mansion, if you're wondering what happened to the dog.)

* * *

The two regulars followed them stealthily. "Is it me or are they going somewhere far away?" Akaya wondered.

Niou nodded. "You're right. They're taking the train. We need to follow them."

"But how about Sanada-fukubuchou?" Akaya quickly asked, the face of one of the sannin bakemono entered his mind and made him shudder.

"Never mind about him. I can talk my way out of it anyway." He said hastily. "Now shut up and be quick! We might not be able to follow them!"

* * *

"Kamakura, Gakusei, nimai kudasai." Seiichi said to the woman at the ticket window. When he got the tickets, he held his companion's hand firmly yet gently and guided her towards the train.

"Which station are we right now?" Kaori asked.

"Yokosuka Station." He said simply. "The train's here. Let's go." He assisted her inside in entering the building and there he found an empty seat for her. In a short while, the doors closed and the train started to move. Though it took for a couple of seconds, he believed that he imagined seeing his teammates Niou and Akaya, gasping for breath just outside the train.

"Ano Yukimura-san," Kaori called.

"What is it?"

"Where are we exactly going? I know you said that we're going to the sea but where exactly?" she said slowly.

"We're heading to Yuigahama, Kamakura." He said.

* * *

"_Where are you two right now?!_" Sanada's voice boomed from Niou's cell phone.

Niou grumbled as the tone of the fukubuchou. "We're at the Yokosuka Station." He said boringly pulling his phone away from his ear.

"_Yokosuka Station? Why did you and Akaya end up there?_" he questioned him.

"The brat and I followed Seiichi." He said bluntly. Akaya went to grab the phone to tell him the truth but his companion slapped his hand away.

"_Followed Yukimura? What on earth made you do that?_" he barked.

"Because I saw him on a date with Marui's friend." The trickster said simply.

"_Seiichi's on a date with Ogawa?_" Renji spoke from the other line, taking away the phone from Sanada's grasp. "_Are you sure about that?_"

"I'm not mistaken, Puri." Niou said seriously. "They were eating together at a Ice Cream Parlour and he even hold her hand. I'm not making this up." He added.

"_Hmm…_" Renji thought deeply. "_Do you know where did they go?_"

"That's the sad part; we weren't able to know where they went off to." Niou said, looking disappointed.

"_I see. Go back here with Akaya and no wandering off._" And with that, the call ended.

The trickster stared at his phone for a while then on to the railways. "Let's go back, brat."

* * *

"_Doors are closing. Please stay away from the closing doors, thank you._" The recorded female voice said robotically as the doors of the train started to close.

Seiichi entered the train while holding the blind girl's hand firmly and let out a soft sigh. "We made it." He panted a bit. "I'm sorry for making you run like that. It must've been hard for you." He apologized to her.

"Oh it's no problem at all, Yukimura-san. It's been a long time since I ran like that." She said with a smile.

The Rikkai Buchou looked around for any empty seat and faced her. "There's no vacant seat."

"I don't mind standing." She piped up.

"But it'll be hard for you if more passengers enter---" he said.

"It's okay. I know that It'll be all right." She said softly.

Seiichi wanted to say something back but decided not to. Instead, he put his right hand on her shoulder and neared her. "I'll keep you safe."

Kaori felt the nearness of him from her and faintly blushed. _This is embarrassing. I believe I'm blushing right now. No don't think about it._ She shook her head mentally and calmed herself down. In a couple of minutes, the train came to a halt and the doors opened yet again, letting more passengers enter, thus making the place more crowded than ever. She felt someone's shoulder hit her side and she thought that she's going to fall when one strong arm caught her.

"Stay here." Seiichi said calmly as he helped her move her way until they reached to the edge. He motioned her to lean against the corner and stood in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded slowly. "There's no need to worry, Yukimura-san. I'm perfectly fine." She said with a convincing smile.

"By the next stop, we'll step out." He said.

"Un." She replied. She can tell how much closer she was to him than before and the very thought of it made her temperature rise. She can tell hear his heartbeat. _I'm never this close to any guy before other than Bunta-kun and it's making me feel dizzy for some reason. I don't even know how Yukimura-san looks like and yet it feels somewhat familiar…_

"Ogawa-san? You face is a bit red." Seiichi pointed out. "Are you feeling sick?"

"N-no! I'm not feeling sick at all. Maybe I just need some air." She said quickly.

"Ah. We'll be at Yuigahama soon." He said reassuringly.

_I just hope so,_ Kaori said to herself.

* * *

"_Arriving at Yuigahama Station._"

As soon as the doors opened, the two teenagers got out. "So are going to ride a bus?" Kaori asked.

"Ah." He smiled as he held her hand again and the two of them walked together. At the front of the station, they soon rode a bus, Kaori sitting first before Seiichi. In a couple of minutes, both of them stepped out from the vehicle.

Kaori felt the air brushed over her face and breathed. "We're already here at the sea, ne?"

"Yeah. Let's go down." Both of them walked down the stairs and there, the blind girl felt the sand on her toes. Seiichi slowly let go of her and distanced himself from her to give her more space.

"Ne Yukimura-san," she called as she stood rooted to her spot.

"What is it, Ogawa-san?" he replied.

"Why did you suggest the sea? And at Yuigahama. There are other beaches that are quite near at our houses but why here?" she wondered, her hair flowed as the wind passed by.

"I used to go here often." He told her. "When I was young, that is. Yuigahama beach is indeed popular but when I get here, there's hardly anyone so I decided this will be my retreat base." He sat on the soft ground and watched the waves with a serene look on his face. Did Bunta told you that back in junior high, I had a neurological disease and I was close to dying?" he asked her.

She nodded. "He told me a bit about it."

"At that time, my body was frail and my health wasn't really my top priority. I would rather play tennis with the whole team to the Nationals. I even considered it as my last game." He chuckled. "But Genichirou, Renji and the others insisted that I should rest and have the operation. It was really thoughtful of them."

"They sound like good people. Marui talks a lot about what you and the team did in those days and sometimes, I wished I could've watched a game." She said.

Seiichi smiled. "Bunta would've loved that."

"Eh? Did you say something?" She asked, looking somewhat confused.

"Nothing." He said nonchalantly.

"Yukimura-san," she called yet again. "I want to go near the shoreline."

"Hai." He stood up, brushed off the sand from his pants and approached her. "We won't go too near, okay?" he said.

"Just as long as I can feel the water." She smiled as she took his hand.

Over half a hundred feet away stood another teenager, holding a bag of sweets on his right hand. He was staring the two who were at the beach. "Niichan, let's go now or we'll be home late Mom said!" chorused voices of two young boys said to him.

He turned to their direction and gave them his usual smile and replied, "Ah I heard you." With one last look, he turned his gaze away and walked with his two twin brothers as his side.

* * *

_**SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!**_

_**Second semester just started yesterday and I wanted to make a comeback in my academics but my confidence let me down because of the professors and the schedule I had. And right now I don't want to talk about it. Grrr…**_

_**Going back, this chapter was sort of rushed and i'm sorry again for that. Something interesting MIGHT happen in the next chapter and I hope that you'll keep on waiting until I released it! That will be all for the moment and please review! Love you guys so much!**_


	8. Seeing Eye

"Oi Marui-sempai," Akaya called for the tenth time.

"I don't think he's listening." Jackal said carefully, eyeing on his teammate.

"You mean his mind is off somewhere we can't reach." Niou corrected him. "I mean, look at him! He looks more of an idiot than last time."

"Masaharu, mind your words." Hiroshi said sternly.

Marui didn't seem to hear what they're talking as his mind went off somewhere, blocking all of the sounds around him. He was in a daze, contemplating himself on whether he should ask or not and a small voice at the back on his head seemed to agree with him. He was dying to know what really happened but he didn't want to sound suspicious and to that, he continued to wander off inside his own world.

Akaya waved his right hand in front of the self-proclaimed genius' face and whistled. "He's not responding at all." He took out a pentel pen and removed the cover. "I'm going to write something on his face!" he said evilly.

"Hey that's a great idea, brat." Niou grinned, taking out a pen as well.

"What are you all doing there?" Renji asked as soon as he approached his teammates.

"Diabetes' mind is off somewhere in lala land." Niou said simply as he wrote something on Marui's face.

"Lala land?" Renji repeated, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Yeah," Akaya agreed, writing something as well.

"Hey don't do that you two." Jackal told them. "You'll both be punished."

"At least we had fun." The two troublemakers said in unison.

Then, footsteps were heard and the Rikkai team, except Marui, turned around and saw Sanada and Seiichi walking together. The fukubuchou eyed on them and barked, "What are you all doing? Shouldn't you all be practicing?"

"Well you see," Jackal said slowly. "Marui's not himself today."

"Yeah that's right." Niou nodded. "We've been trying to get his attention but as you can tell that we failed. See it for yourself."

Sanada neared the redhead and his eyebrows were raised. "What did you do to his face?" he demanded.

"We can't help it." The trickster shrugged.

The Rikkai buchou approached Marui to see what Sanada saw. There, he stopped himself from chuckling. "You doodled his face with pentel pen?" he mused as he tried not to react.

"Yup!" Niou and Akaya saluted.

"Yukimura, don't encourage them." Sanada said sternly.

Marui jerked a bit when he heard the buchou's name and he shot up, gripping his shoulders tight and said seriously, "What did you do yesterday?!"

Seiichi blinked as their faces were close to each other and he couldn't fight it back and just let out a hearty laugh. "Ah gomen Bunta, I can't help it. Your face is ridiculous to look at." He chuckled.

Marui shot a confused look at him and stared at his other teammates, noticing Niou and Akaya trying not to laugh at something and even Yanagi and Yagyuu, who seemed to try to look monotone as usual. Jackal, being a good friend as always, said to him in a somewhat serious tone, "You should look at yourself."

"Eh?"

"Just…look at the mirror." He said carefully as he tried not to laugh.

Scratching the back of his head, he walked toward the club room and entered. In less than a minute, Marui was yelling, "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FACE?!"

Niou and Akaya didn't take it any longer and laughed out really hard, clutching their stomach and rolled on the ground. "BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!" they guffawed.

"Bunta, remove the doodles from your face before practicing. I hope it's not permanent." Seiichi told him in a loud tone. "The others, 30 laps around the court."

"Hai!"

"Masaharu and Akaya, stand up now or I'll triple your laps." Seiichi added as he shot a look at the two.

"Yeah…" they said as they breathed for air, having enough of laughing.

* * *

"Damn, it took me almost half an hour to remove the lines. I'll get you next time Niou, Akaya." Marui growled as he walked in the hallway. He turned right and over a few feet stood Yukimura talking to one of the male students that looked like one of the buchou's classmates. _I still haven't asked him about it_, Marui said mentally as he watched him from afar. Much to his dislike, the buchou noticed him.

"What is it Bunta?" he asked as he approached him.

"Uhh…" he paused. "I…wanted to ask you about something." He said slowly.

"And what is it do you want to ask?" he asked tentatively.

"Well, I want to ask---" he stopped talking when someone tapped on his shoulder and responding, he turned around and his gaze met a girl's gaze. "What?"

"Umm…can we talk for a bit, Marui-san?" she said shyly.

"I'm busy talking to someone---" he tried to tell the girl but he was cut off by the person he's talking to.

"Ah it's okay. You should talk to her first, Bunta. Let's talk later, okay?" and with one wave, he walked away, leaving the two of them.

_Man he escaped from me! I can't believe this_, he groaned to himself. He knew for a fact that the girl's going to confess her feelings to him but he had no time for that kind of nonsense. "Let's talk at the rooftop quick." He said monotonously as he walked ahead of her.

* * *

When classes were over, Marui stuffed all of his things inside his bag and took off from the classroom, forgetting to wait Jackal. He sprinted toward the direction of the buchou's classroom, bumping into all sorts of students and not even bothering to say sorry. When he opened the door, he yelled, "Yukimura-buchou!"

The remaining students inside stared at him. "A-ano Marui-san," a male student called him slowly. "Yukimura-san left already. He said he's meeting his grandfather somewhere."

Marui twitched slightly. "Already?" he repeated. _He got away from me! That's it, I'm determined to ask him no matter what!_

* * *

The following day, Marui woke up really early and quickly changed to his uniform, ate his breakfast in lightning speed that surprised both of his twin younger brothers and parents, and went to school. As he jogged toward the school, he didn't notice a dozen of wavering eyes staring at him as though he was some kind of prey. When he finally arrived from school, he saw the Rikkai buchou was in front of him. "Yukimura-buch---" he called but soon stopped abruptly when he realized that a swarm of his fangirls charged at him.

"KYAAAAAA MARUI-SAMA OHAYOU!!" they said in unison.

Before he could even escape from them, he was surrounded. "H-hey! I'll deal with you all later! Yukimura-buchou!" He tried to fend them off but it was no use at all. Soon, he was engulfed by their worship for him.

The said person, Seiichi, who was walking leisurely towards the tennis courts, turned around to check whether someone called him name but only saw a group of female students surrounding someone or something. Shrugging, he continued to walk without a single knowledge that Marui tried to call him. "Yukimura," Sanada greeted, nodding at him once.

"Ah. Good morning, Genichirou." He said with a smile as he saw him, removing his earphones.

"Do you know where Marui is? Practice is about to start in 10 minutes." The fukubuchou said sternly.

The Rikkai buchou thought deeply and said finally, "Just now, I heard his voice call my name but I think I'm hearing things, don't you think?"

Sanada glanced at the mob of girls on one side of the school grounds and asked curiously, "What's happening over there?"

He took a swift look at the girls and shrugged. "I don't really know. Maybe it's something they find interesting for their liking." He guessed.

"I suppose. But needless to say, Marui must arrive here or he'll be running laps again."

"That's true." (A/N: lol poor Marui…)

* * *

"Damn fangirls…giving me a hard time." Marui grumbled, his eyes strained.

"Hey it's not them, it's us. We're just that great. Well, I'm way greater than you." Niou said casually as he sat opposite of him.

"Like I've give a damn about it." Marui retorted. _I can't believe what's happening to me right now…am I really not allowed to ask him?!_ "So where' buchou right now?" he asked before taking a huge bite from his yakisoba bread.

"He'll be here any minute now. Kajimoto-sensei was talking to him for a quite a while." He told him as he winked at the passing female students who quickly blushed and squealed.

_Well, he'd better come here fast or I might go myself crazy._ "Lunch break's going to end soon if he doesn't come here." He said hastily.

"Oi Bunta," Jackal greeted him as he sat beside him, carrying with him were a can of cold coffee and curry bread. "I've been looking all over for you. What happened to you? You seemed rather strained."

Niou snorted. "He was blaming his fangirls for making him late for this morning's practice."

"Ah I see. It's not like it happens everyday, right? Maybe you're just unlucky today." He said simply before taking a sip from his drink.

"I'm not being unlucky." He growled.

"Who's being unlucky?" Akaya chirped as he arrived, plopping himself on a vacant seat with them.

"Marui." Niou said before the self-proclaimed genius could even say anything.

"Marui-sempai? Like he's ever been lucky in his entire life." The little demon snorted but earned a whack at the back of his head. "Hey that hurts!" he hissed.

"Who's being unlucky now?" Marui sneered.

"Why you---!"

"What's going on?" A strict familiar voice questioned them.

"Oi Sanada. And mura-buchou. Yo." Niou greeted. "Even you Hiroshi."

"Ah." The RIkkai buchou replied while the other two just nodded and sat down with the others. "Where's Renji?" he said inquiringly to them.

"I bet he's in the science room doing something creepy." Akaya piped up.

"I guess so." He noticed that a certain teammate was staring at him like there's something on his face and realized that it was no other than Marui. "Is there something wrong Bunta?" he asked kindly.

"Yeah…You bet I do." He muttered as he nodded slowly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I wanted to know what you did two days a---" he stopped midway when he heard a student's voice rang across the cafeteria from the announcer.

"_Marui Bunta, please proceed to__ the Principal's Office. I repeat, Marui Bunta, please proceed to the Principal's office immediately."_

His teammates stared at him. "H-hey I didn't do anything bad!" he protested.

"Yeah, sure. Say all you want." Niou snorted.

He had the urge to strangle him on spot but managed to stop himself and stood up. "I'll ask you later, buchou." Turning away from them, he left the cafeteria with a smug look on his face.

"What's with his attitude? He seems upset or something." Jackal muttered.

"You think so? I thought he's having PMS." Niou said indifferently.

"Masaharu."

"Yes, mother."

* * *

Marui went out of the Principal's Office with his face in a scowl expression. "Stupid Principal, making a damn conclusion that I was the one who's been stealing bloomers just because I have red hair…am I the only one with red hair?! Gahh It's pissing me off." He grumbled to himself as he walked.

"What? You're accused of stealing bloomers? I can't believe that you've done that Marui." Niou suddenly spoke as he appeared on his side, an evil smirk plastered on his face.

Marui paled. "W-what?! That's not true and you know it!"

"Yeah, I know but it'll be nice to spread a little rumour, don't ya think?" he chuckled evilly.

"Do that or I'll tell everyone about _that thing---_" Marui whispered to his ear.

Niou twitched a little and gave him an accusing finger. "You're going to die a painful death if you're going to do that." He said threateningly.

As they blackmailed each other, Akaya appeared from the left side of the hallway and saw them. He sweat dropped. "Weirdoes." Then, he heard the things they're saying and an idea sprang inside his evil demonic head. "That was quite interesting. Maybe I should ask Yanagi-sempai about it---" he stopped muttering as he realized two evil glares boring holes on him.

"You listened to us, huh?" they growled, looking really deadly.

Akaya sweat dropped. "It's not like I listened to you, I just overheard you---"

"Still the same." They said flatly, approaching to him slowly.

The junior ace backed away a little. Then, he sprinted off. "Waaahh Mura-buchou help me!" he whined.

"Come back here you brat!" the two seniors yelled as they chased him.

As they ran, Renji and Jackal saw them and didn't say anything else. Also, Yagyuu got a small glimpse at what's happening as he got out of the library and just let out a small sigh. "Immature." He muttered.

* * *

At the end of the day, Marui got tired. Really tired. When he and Niou finally captured Akaya, they dragged him toward the boy's C.R and planned to give him a good swirley for 'listening' to their talk until they were caught by one of their teachers. Because of that, the two tennis players were punished, whereas Akaya stuck his tongue at them and said taunting remarks at the same time. Also, Seiichi and Sanada heard this and punished them too by making them run laps. 300 laps to be precise.

It was pure hell for the self-proclaimed genius. "I hate this day…All I want is to ask a simple question to buchou and this is what I get?!" he groaned, kicking a rock nearby. He let out a frustrated sigh and continued to walk until he saw a familiar figure in front of him.

"Ah Bunta-kun, you finally got out of the club room. Good." Seiichi said softly, greeting him with a smile.

"Bu-buchou! Why are you still here?" He quickly asked.

"I waited for you, that's what." He said simply. "You said you're going to ask a question, right?" he reminded him.

"A-ah you remembered." He sweat dropped. _I guess this is my chance to ask him._ Then, he looked around quickly, his eyes narrowing.

The Rikkai Buchou stared at him weirdly. "What are you doing?" he said curiously.

"Checking if they're any distractions." He said simply. "Okay, there's none."

"So, what's the question?"

"What did you do two days ago?" he asked him.

"On a Sunday?" he blinked. "I was at the park."

"At the park?" he repeated. "That's…all?"

"Of course not. Apparently, I saw Ogawa-san there too because of her dog Ichiro and both of us decided to eat together at the ice cream parlour." He told him.

"Really?"

"Well, we also went to Yuigahama beach and pretty much that's it." He said. "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"So you and Kaori-chan had a date?" he gaped.

"Date? No. It's not a date." He chuckled.

"Ah. Yeah. You're right, buchou." He laughed. "Well, that's all I'm going to ask. See you tomorrow buchou!" with one wave, he sprinted off, looking really happy.

* * *

The following afternoon after class, Marui was in spirits as he jogged toward the direction to his home but decided to take another route. "I'm going to visit Kaori-chan." He said happily. When he took a left turn, he was about to pass by a playground he always checked the sunset at that place so jerked his a bit to right and his eyes widened. "Kaori-chan…?" he said in an audible whisper.

There, at the playground was his childhood friend Kaori, standing. But, she wasn't alone. She was with Seiichi who was standing in front of her.

He felt something weird inside his chest but ignored it and decided to greet them but he stopped. Kaori, though not directly gazing at Seiichi's face, looked really happy as she accepted something from him. Seiichi, too, put up a gentle smile and said something that the redhead could not possibly hear. Just then, Kaori's cheeks blushed in a light shade of pink and giggled.

Marui stood there, not moving at all. This time, the foreign feeling inside engulfed him and one word only got out from his mouth. "Liar."

* * *

_**Sorry for the long wait! Nyaaahhh lots of things happened to me!**_

_**Hmmm…what do you think about this chapter? I mean, really. Ah well. Anything goes for me, huh? Well I believe you know what's going to happen in the next chapter, right? Good, good. Please review guys. Bit of an angst, really at the end. Sorry about that.  
**_


	9. Losing Trust

Early in the morning, the regulars arrived at the tennis grounds. Surprisingly, Marui and Akaya got there early. One of them, Hiroshi, was the last to arrive but nonetheless, did not arrive late, seemed a bit put out and yawned a bit once in a while. After a minute's announcement from Seiichi about the upcoming tournament, they started practicing. "Oi Hiroshi," Niou called as he chased the ball and hit it using a backhand. "It's unlikely of you to be yawning, you know."

Hiroshi hit the ball back and replied, "It's because of my dear sister."

"Mi-chan?" Niou said, looking slightly interested. "What did she do this time, huh?"

"Do I have to tell you?" he said indifferently, his eyes showing mere monotony.

"Yeah because we're friends." The trickster said nonchalantly. They continued to play for the next 10 minutes until their time ran out. As they walked out of the court, he said to him, "Spill it, megane."

Hiroshi stared at him for quite a while and let out a small sigh. Taking out a small towel from his sports bag and wiped some sweat from his face, he said bluntly, "She wanted to study at Hyotei."

Niou, who was drinking water casually, choked a bit and gawked at his teammate. "She _what_?"

"Who wanted to study at Hyotei?" the junior ace questioned, beside him was the data specialist who just listened carefully since they were nearest to them and just overheard them talk.

"Mi-chan. She wanted to study at that rich bastard's school." Niou said. He turned his attention back to Hiroshi and questioned, "Care to explain this weird phenomenon?"

"She got an email from Sugiyama-san that she's studying at Hyotei and my dear sister decided that she wanted to study there." The gentleman explained.

"Ai-chan's back from America? Since when?" Akaya asked rather loudly, wanting for a certain regular with a cap to hear.

"I don't know the details yet but I'll ask Hitomi about it, if you want." Hiroshi said.

"What are you talking there?" Seiichi asked them as he approached them, walking beside him was Sanada.

"Mi-chan's wanted to study at Hyotei because Ai-chan's back from the U.S." Akaya said quickly before Niou could say anything else.

"Ai-san returned?" Seiichi repeated. "It's been two years since we last see her, right? Ne Genichirou?" he smiled at the fukubuchou, who blushed a bit. The Rikkai buchou chuckled after seeing it and said, "If your sister wants to study there, why not? It'll be good for her." He said.

"And why would it be good for her? She might become one of those mindless rich-ass students who think about jewelry and that shit." Niou said spitefully since he treated Hiroshi's younger sister as his own.

"Because if you noticed, she's being bombarded by the female student community to become their 'bridge' since she's close to us." Renji said simply, earning nods from Sanada and Seiichi. "And I, too, agree with Yukimura on this one."

"Hey what are you guys doing there? You seemed to be talking something important." Jackal called them as he and Marui walked together to them.

"Nothing much, really. We were only talking about Mi-chan studying at Hyotei." Niou told him.

"Is it because Ai-san's back from America?" the brazilian asked.

"Hey how did you know about that?" Niou and Akaya questioned him.

"Because I got an email from her few days ago that she's going back here in Japan." He answered simply. "She wanted to surprise you guys, though." He added.

"Ah is that so?" Niou said thoughtfully.

As they talked, Marui didn't join them and stayed silent. He was deep in thought again and as he looked around to waste time, his gaze landed on his captain, Seiichi. His stared deepened and he remembered what he saw and it caused him to feel the irritating tightness in his chest again. He knew that he shouldn't be jumping to conclusions but the very thought of it made him even more doubtful about his captain's words. "Oi Bunta, are you listening?" Jackal called for the third time as he tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

He blinked once and looked at his teammate who seemed to be worried about him. Putting up a smile, he said apologetically, "Ah sorry Jackal, I was thinking about some things."

"What? You? Thinking about things?" Niou repeated incredulously. "Did you eat something bad or what?" he sneered.

A vein appeared on the volley specialist's head and yelled, "What are you saying, Niou? That I can't think?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Niou nodded, earning a snicker from Akaya.

"That's it, you're going to get your ass kicked!" Marui lunged at Niou who was already in combat stance. Akaya cheered.

"Oi oi, stop acting like kids, you two." Jackal said sternly but the two regulars didn't listen to him.

Sanada stepped in and was about to say something when Marui's hand swatted his hat from his head and Niou unintentionally stepped on it. The fukubuchou stared at his cap and shot a hard glare at the two and yelled, "230 laps around the court! Both of you now!"

The two stopped on cue and started running, blackmailing each other instead. Yagyuu shook his head lightly and muttered, "And to think that they're my teammates." (A/N: if you're wondering who's Hitomi, she's the younger sister of Hiroshi who appeared in my first POT fanfic, Unique. Ai is also from the first fanfic, Unique. )

* * *

In Kaori's room, the blind girl and her maid were inside where Ami was busy rearranging some of the furniture when the phone rang. She placed the vase that Marui made for Kaori on the table and quickly reached for the phone. "Ogawa's residence, who is this?" Ami said.

"It's me, Bunta." The volley specialist replied. "Is Kaori-chan awake?"

"Yes, she is." She answered.

"Ami-neesan, who called?" Kaori asked.

"It's Bunta-san," The maid replied as she handed the phone to her.

As soon as she received it, she answered, "Bunta-kun?"

"Oi Kaori-chan, what's up?" he greeted.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Is there something wrong?" she answered.

"Why asking that kind of question?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure but it feels like you're depressed. I don't know. Am I right?" she reluctantly told him.

Then, she heard him laugh from the other line. "Really? You think so? No, I'm not depressed or anything. How about you? What's happening over there?"

"Nothing much, if I remember it. Kannon-niisan's still the same." She recalled.

"Oh really? Nothing to tell me?" he insisted.

"Umm…eto," she thought. "Seiichi-san gave me a gift few days ago…" she said timidly.

"Seiichi?" he repeated. _Since when did Kaori-chan call Mura-buchou by his first name?_ "He gave you a gift? What kind of gift?" he asked yet again.

"I haven't opened it yet." Kaori replied. "You can come over here and we'll open it together if you like." She suggested.

Marui had the urge to say yes and go to her house but stopped himself. "It's your present, Kaori-chan so you should open it yourself." He said happily. "When you open it, just tell me if you have the time, ne?"

She nodded. "Okay. I'll tell you, then."

"I'll see you in five days' time. Ja." He said before he hung up.

After they talked, she put the phone down and thought deeply. _I'm not sure but…something's really bothering Bunta-kun. I hope it won't affect his concentration for the upcoming tournament._

* * *

"Okay everyone, practice is over! You may all go now!" Sanada shouted.

The members and the regulars heard him and stopped, walking back to the club room and changed back to their uniforms. Marui and Jackal was the last to enter the room, the self-proclaimed genius panting slightly as he wiped some of his sweat with the use of his towel. He had been practicing very hard for the upcoming tournament, even if their upcoming opponents were not as strong as Hyotei or Seigaku. Entering the room, he took out a plastic bottle of water and drank everything to satisfy his thirst. "You've been working hard, Bunta." Jackal commented as he removed his shirt.

The redhead nodded determinedly. "Of course. Even if our first opponents aren't that strong, we should defeat them because we're the strongest of the all Japan."

"Huh, you sound admirable for a moment, diabetes." Niou smirked as he got out from the changing room, already wearing his school uniform. "Usually you would faint but…"

"But _what_, Niou?" he repeated, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh nothing, really." He said finally, an evil smirk plastered on his mischievous face.

Marui had the urge to strangle him like any other day but stopped himself yet again. "Whatever." He stood up, took his school uniform from his sports bag and entered one of the changing rooms. After a couple of minutes, he finally got out and picked up his bag, stuffing his dirty tennis uniform inside. "I'll be going now."

"Oi where are you going?" Jackal called.

"Somewhere." He said hastily as he went out of the club room.

The two regulars stared at the doorway. "He seemed like he's in a hurry, Puri." Niou said suddenly.

The brazilian nodded. "Yeah. Something must've happened." Then, the two of them heard a crash and yell from one of the changing rooms.

"WHY IS MY UNIFORM COVERED IN RED ANTS AND SYRUP?!" a familiar voice bellowed as he yelped in pain.

Jackal stared at Niou who was whistling innocently. "You did that, didn't you Niou?" he said sternly. "Why do you keep on doing pranks on people? Be it teachers or students?" he asked.

Niou tsked. "I wouldn't be called the trickster if I don't do those things, right?" he said proudly.

The brazilian shook his head.

* * *

Panting heavily because of running continuously and because of his stamina issues, he finally arrived at Kaori's house. He pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to arrive. In a short time, the door finally opened but unexpectedly, the one who opened the door was Seiichi. The two regulars stared at each other until Seiichi spoke. "Ah Bunta, you came to see Kaori-san, right?" he said gently.

The self-proclaimed stopped gawking at him and nodded quickly. "Y-yeah. So where is she?"

"She's in the living room, I believe." He answered. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bunta." He gave him a subtle smile and walked away.

Marui watched him go and the irritating tightness in his chest was felt again. He was more doubtful than before. Then, he heard Ami's voice called him. "Bunta-san, you're here to visit Kaori-san again." She said with a smile.

"That's right." He nodded. "Where is she, Ami-neesan?" he asked her.

"Oh she's still in the living room right after Yukimura-san left." She told him.

For some odd reason, hearing his captain's name made his eyes twitch slightly but ignored it completely. Entering the household, he walked inside until he arrived inside the living room where he saw his close friend sitting alone, holding something. "Kaori-chan!" he called energetically.

She looked up and said audibly, "Bunta-kun?" she wondered.

He bounced towards her and sat beside on her left side. "You're right." He smirked. "So, I just saw Mura-buchou coming out from here. Did he want something from you?"

"Well, he just visited me. And I just opened the present he gave me." She told him. "It's really nice of him." She added.

"So, is that the one he gave you?" he asked, staring at the object his friend was holding.

She nodded. The object she held was a book filled with flowers on each page that were pressed and preserved. "He said he owned this own for a long time and he added that he doesn't mind giving it to me."

"Ah…I see." He reluctantly answered, his chest tightened yet again. "I told you he's a really good person!" he said with a grin.

"I…" she started.

"Eh?'

"…wanted to give him something in return." She said finally, a small tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks. "I want to thank him for giving me something as special as the one he gave me." She told him.

Marui was speechless. He can't say anything from that point because if he did, he had a lingering feeling that his friend will be out of reach anymore. "Why…?" he whispered. "I mean, I'm sure Yukimura doesn't mind if he didn't receive anything from you."

"Because he's really kind to me and I feel comfortable when I'm with him. Just like you." She said softly. "I don't want to abuse his kindness for me."

Hearing that answer, he slowly stood up.

"Bunta-kun?" Kaori called, looking slightly surprised. "Are you going already?"

"Ah. I'll see you again next week, Kaori-chan." He said monotonously as he walked away from her.

She nodded. "Okay. I'll wait for you." She said cheerfully.

He felt a fleeting moment of happiness when he heard those words as soon he left the room and quickly bid to Ami who just nodded and opened the door for him. Out from the house, he decided to run again until he finally reached an old temple. Catching his breath, he tried to fight off the strange emotions he's been feeling lately. He punched the nearest tree, feeling his hand in slight pain but ignored it completely. "Don't let this get to you." He said to himself but he remembered what she said to him lately.

"_Because he's really kind to me and I feel comfortable when I'm with him…_"

He cursed himself. "Damnit." _Why am I feeling so jealous? Yukimura-buchou was only visiting, that's all. There's nothing wrong with it. Nothing._ "I'm going insane here." He said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

* * *

Seiichi walked inside the neighbourhood towards his house, thinking about his visit to his regular's best friend, Kaori. He didn't understand why he visited and talked to her since he hardly knew her but at the back of his mind and heart, he felt as if he knew her for a very long time. He thought that it was because he kept on seeing her in his dreams few months ago but he assumed otherwise. Arriving at the doorstep of his house, he took out a set of keys from his bag and opened the door with it.

"I'm home." He said with a smile as he entered and saw his mother.

"Ah Seiichi-kun, welcome back. Dinner's almost ready." His mother smiled gently to him as she arranged the plates with the help of the other maids.

"Let me help you," he said as he put his bag down.

"No dear, take a bath first." She shook her head and pointed upstairs to his room.

Seiichi sighed. "Hai." He picked up his bag again and went upstairs where he was greeted by his younger sister, Reiko.

"Niichan!" she greeted as she hugged him around his waist. "You arrived late." She commented.

"Ah. I visited someone." He said simply.

"Was it a girl?" the young girl piped up.

"What makes you think that I visited a girl?" he mused.

"Because you smell like flowers!" she told him. "Though you also smell of sweat." She added with a toothy grin.

Seiichi chuckled. "Is that so? Well, I'll go clean myself first, Rei-chan." He said.

"Okay!" she finally let go of him. "I'll help mommy!" and with that, she went downstairs.

Sighing slightly, he entered his room and went inside his personal bathroom where he took a quick shower. Finished, he changed to his casual clothes and went downstairs where all of the members except his father were already there seated. He took a seat beside his younger sister and picked up his chopsticks. "Ittadakimasu." He muttered as he started eating.

* * *

A couple of days after, the tournament began. Obviously, Rikkai Dai team didn't have any mercy at their opponents and won all of their matches within a few minutes. Winning victoriously as always, they decided to eat somewhere nice since they have the time and there, they decided to eat at a sushi restaurant, courtesy of Niou and Akaya. After they ordered, they talked about some things. Seiichi was in a deep conversation with Sanada and Renji whereas Niou teased Akaya and Jackal stopping them light quarrel. And as for Hiroshi, he was reading a book and not bothering stopping Niou and his antics.

Marui, on the other hand, sat numbly on the corner of the table, thoughts drifting off again. He was still unsure whether to trust his instincts or believe in his buchou's words but having heard Kaori and seeing Seiichi being with her twice, it made him really jealous even if he didn't quite understand why.

"Marui?" Renji called him.

"Huh?" the volley specialist replied, looking somewhat dazed.

The data specialist sighed. "The food's going to be gone if you're not going to eat anything." He said as he took a small bite from his share.

"EHHHHHHH?!" he reacted. He saw that Niou was devouring almost everything he can reach, so was Akaya. The trickster was about to take the salmon sushi but he took it with the speed of light and swallowed it whole.

"Hey you! That was supposed to be mine!" The trickster growled, throwing death glares at him.

"Like I care." Marui snorted as he ate a couple of more that were within his reach.

* * *

After eating, the team split up and walked to places they wanted to. Marui decided to go home and rest and since he lived somehow nearby with Seiichi, both of them walked together. They didn't talk that much and when they reached the playgrounds, the redhead spoke up. "Buchou," he called, his voice not as lively as before.

Seiichi stopped walking and turned back to look at his teammate. "What is it, Bunta?" he responded.

"What do you think about Kaori-chan?" he suddenly asked.

The Rikkai buchou simply stared at him, unsure to what he's going to answer. "If you ask me, she's a kind person and has a sweet personality---"

"That's not the answer I'm expecting." He said.

Seiichi didn't say anything for a moment and knew from that point on what his teammate was referring to. "You're mistaken---"

"Then why are you visiting her?" he questioned him. "Don't tell me there's no reason behind it."

"Bunta---"

"Seiichi," he called him yet again, this time serious. "I don't want you to visit her any longer." Seiichi was surprised by what Marui just said. "I don't care what you're thinking about visiting her or anything but I'm telling you this once, don't go near her."

"It's not what you think---"

"I love Kaori-chan, you get it?!" he shouted. "I know her more than you did and I've been with her longer and that's why…"

"Listen to me first---"

"_I'm not letting you take her away from me._"

* * *

_**Ohhh that's unsettling. Hey sorry guys for the late update. Been very busy even during holiday vacations.**_

_**So…he finally told him that he's in love with Kaori. What's going to happen next? Will Kaori know about this? How about Seiichi since he had no feelings for the blind girl except friendship? Will something good bloom out of this? Hmmm…you'll just have to find out, won't you?**_

_**Bwahahahahaha ah well it can't be helped. Please Review for me guys!**_


	10. Suspicious

Seiichi was shocked. He didn't see this coming. He was being friendly with Kaori only it resulted to being doubted by his own teammate and was forbidden to have any contact with her. For him, it was simply too much since he didn't do anything bad at all. He tried to reason with him but in the end, his attempts were futile. He didn't want to worsen the situation and just agreed to not talk to her at all but deep inside, he just wanted to say at least goodbye to her and explain why he had to avoid her.

A couple of days after the incident, the daily routine in the Rikkai Dai tennis club continued as nothing serious happened. This only Seiichi and Marui knew.

_Marui breathed heavily after revealing his feelings for the blind girl to his buchou. Finally calming down, he looked at him straight in the eye and said, "Don't worry though, buchou. I won't involve this in our club activities, I assure of you."_

_Seiichi smiled grimly. "Bunta, you have to listen to me---"_

"_You've said enough. I don't need to hear what you have to say." He interrupted him. "Don't worry about on how Kaori-chan will react. I'll talk to her after this." _

_The Rikkai Buchou believed that the conversation was over. He sighed in defeat. "Ah. I'll see you at school on Monday then, Bunta."_

_The volley specialist turned away and started walking until he stopped. Looking back across his shoulders, he added, "Keep your promise."_

He sighed as he remembered the scene for the fifth time as he watched the clouds moved ever so slowly above the sky. He glanced back down to the tennis courts where his teammates were training hard for the upcoming tournament. He watched every single regular until his eyes landed on Marui who just used his specialty move with ease. For a moment, he felt saddened but he reminded himself again that it was for the betterment of both the tennis club and for Marui.

_But how about you?_

Seiichi frowned inwardly. _What do you mean by that? And what about me? I'm perfectly fine with everything but it seemed unfair at some point._

_See? So you also think that it's unfair that you have to be separated with someone like her._

_Yes…__I believe about that but I don't want to cause trouble for Bunta,_ Seiichi reasoned with himself.

_So you're saying that it's better to hurt yourself than to seek your own happiness?_The voice questioned him again.

_My own happiness? What does that have to do with it?_

The voice laughed yet its voice was distant._ It's your choice on what you want to do with your life. All I'm saying is that one day, you'll realize something important and you'll do anything to gain it._

Seiichi didn't continue to argue with his inner self because Sanada asked him a question. "What is it, Genichirou?" he replied with a smile.

The fukubuchou of the team sighed slightly as he watched his captain. "It's not polite to space out while someone is talking." He said sternly. "Something's troubling you lately." He added.

"No, nothing's troubling me." He shook his head slowly and gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's not good to lie. Do I even have to repeat this? You may be a good liar but you can't lie to me or to Renji." Sanada said monotonously.

Seiichi felt as if he wanted to tease Sanada about something he knew that would tick him to hell but forced himself not to. Instead, he returned, "And you, my dear friend, should not be so uptight most of the time because you'll age faster than the rest of us."

The fukubuchou said, "Stubborn."

"Just like you." He smiled.

Sanada shook his head. He could never win against him at anything.

* * *

Kaori was sitting on the side of her bed, feeling a small portion of the sun's ray from where she's sitting. She couldn't help but be worried; She hadn't had any contact with Seiichi for the past few days and oddly enough, Marui called and told her that Seiichi won't be able to visit her because he's been busy lately. She nodded, understanding the Rikkai Dai's tennis captain's situation but deep inside, she could not help but doubt her childhood friend's explanation.

She sighed deeply. She just wished that she could call him personally and asked him what was the real reason but she knew that if she did that, she might cause a problem. She heard a knock from the door and said, "Come inside please."

The one who entered was her older brother, Kannon. As he entered the room, he lightly shut the door behind him and approached his younger sister, sitting beside her. "You've been staying here for quite a while, Kaori-chan." He remarked. "Are you expecting a certain someone to call you?" he questioned her.

Kaori shook her head quickly; a small blush crept on her cheeks. "Of course not, onii-san. I just don't feel like going out." She replied.

"Is that so?" he looked at her intently, checking whether there's any reaction. He let out a small sigh. "Is it that blue-haired young man? What's his name again? Oh yes, Yukimura-san, right?" he said thoughtfully, though he said it intentionally.

Kaori heard the Rikkai Dai's surname and she immediately flushed and it only lasted a mere 2 to 3 seconds.

Kannon caught her. "Ah so he's the one you're waiting." He said teasingly.

She was stunned. "Y-you're mistaken." She said defiantly.

Her older brother raised an eyebrow. "So you're waiting for Bunta, then?" he remarked.

Kaoru paused for a while then shook her head. "…No."

Sighing, he put his left hand on the left temple of his younger sibling and slowly made her lean against his shoulder. "You're upset. Something happened? Tell me." He said quietly, acting more like an older brother than before.

"Well, I…" she started. "I don't know, really. I just feel as if something did happen without me knowing it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Seiichi-san suddenly didn't visit for quite a while then Bunta-kun came the other day and said that Seiichi-san won't be visiting because of too much work. I know he's the captain of the tennis club and also the student president of his school but it seemed so sudden that he stopped coming here. Knowing him a bit more, he could've at least called me and said about it." She explained.

Kannon blinked. "Is that the reason?"

"Not really." she shook her head. "Bunta-kun has been acting unusual few days ago. I'm not sure what's the reason but I could tell that something's bothering him and it seemed like he won't tell me about it." She told him.

"Kaori…"

"I'm really confused right now, Kannon-niisan. Something really happened and the two of them won't tell me…" she said worryingly.

He sighed. "Okay, how about this. I'll go talk to Yukimura-san and Bunta and after that, I'll tell you everything. Will that make you calm down for a while?" he said reassuringly.

Kaoru nodded once. "Thank you. I just don't want the two of them to break their bond with each other."

Kannon stood up, ruffling her sister's hair. "You worry too much." He walked towards the door and opened it but before going out the room, he added, "I'll call Ami to come inside, the two of us are going out."

"Okay."

* * *

Seiichi was inside his room, doing his homework and at the same time, thinking about what Kaori was doing at this time. He really wanted to call and talk to her, explaining to her what really happened and the reason for not visiting her and helping her tend the flowers in the blind girl's greenhouse. He was so immersed in thinking that he didn't hear or notice his younger sister Reiko enter his room and call him.

"Niichan!" she hollered.

Seiichi blinked and looked left. "Reiko?"

Reiko pouted cutely at him and whined, "I've been calling your name a lot of times but you're not replying…" her eyes started to become watery and she sniffed a little.

The older brother felt guilty. "Reiko, I'm really sorry. Please don't cry." He embraced her gently as he calmed her down. "Feeling better?"

The little girl nodded quickly. "Niichan," she called him yet again.

"What is it?"

"You have a visitor downstairs." She said shortly.

"Eh? A visitor?" he repeated.

"I don't know him, really but he seems to know you well. He has this _really_ messy red-orange hair and he's _really _tall!" she described with actions to boot.

Seiichi chuckled and stood up from his seat. "Ah, I see. I'll be going down to meet him."

"I'll come too!" she piped up as she held his hand. The two of them walked together and went downstairs, going to another hallway until they entered the living room. Reiko finally let go of Seiichi's hand and ran towards the visitor. "Niichan is here! Sorry for making you wait, Visitor-jiichan!" she said toothily.

"Ah didn't I tell you to me niichan and not jiichan? I don't have white hair, you know." He said exasperatedly to the little girl.

"Okay jiichan!" she nodded. The visitor sighed deeply.

Seiichi still stood from his spot. He couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him was Kaori's older brother, Kannon. "Ogawa-san." He said finally.

Kannon looked up and gave him a small wave. "Yo, Yukimura-san." He greeted.

"This is quite unexpected." He commented.

"I quite agree with you there. I can't believe that I've actually visited you." He chuckled. "Didn't know you have an energetic younger sibling." He added.

Seiichi nodded as he sat before him. "Yes, she's ten years old right now. She just had her birthday last week." He told him.

"Is that so?"

Reiko glanced at Kannon and nodded at him furiously. "I'm a big girl!" she said proudly.

He couldn't help but smile at her. "Yes, you're a big girl."

Seiichi beckoned his younger sister and asked her to leave the room for a while, which she complied but before leaving, she kissed him on the cheeks and waved at the visitor. "Handful, is she?" Kannon asked as soon as she left.

The rikkai buchou shook his head and replied, "No. In fact, she usually is the one cheering me up and staying beside me when I'm sick or depressed."

"Ah. That's good." He nodded.

After a minute's silence, Seiichi spoke. "Since you visited, I believe it is something of importance you needed to know or inform me."

Kannon nodded once and said quietly, "My sister's been worrying about you and Bunta for the past few days."

He felt a small pang inside but ignored it a bit. He asked, "Is she?"

"She had a feeling that something happened between the two of you guys and because of that, she's fretting about it ever since you stopped visiting her." He told him. Eyeing on him a bit, he questioned, "Judging from that expression of yours, something did happen. I suggest that you speak about it or I won't leave here."

The Rikkai Dai buchou thought for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should tell him. He responded with a smile, "There is nothing to tell you. Nothing happened between me and Bunta. Please do tell Kaori-san that I won't be able to visit her."

The older guy let out a sigh. "I did say that I won't leave here until I got a sufficient answer." He said seriously.

"I did tell you my answer."

"It wasn't the answer that I'm expecting."

"What kind of answer do you want me to tell you, then?"

"Stop playing around. I'm doing this for my sister so you'd better tell me because right now I can tell that you find me rather annoying. And by the way, you can't fool me that easily, I'm majoring in Psychology." Kannon said sharply.

Seiichi frowned slightly. "I believe it is none of your business."

Kannon smirked in triumph. "I have every right to know what's happening because it concerns about my sister."

"Are you going to tell her about it?" he questioned him.

"It depends on how awful the situation is." He said simply.

The Rikkai Dai buchou sighed in defeat. "It happened when…"

After telling him what really happened, Kannon simply stared at him with his mouth slightly open. "…That's what happened?" he gaped.

Seiichi nodded.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply. He didn't expect the situation to be this bad. "So you just stopped visiting her so that the situation between you and Bunta will not worsen but why? You don't have any attraction towards Kaori-chan, which I'm glad about it." He repeated what Seiichi told him.

He sweat dropped at his last comment. _He really is protective of Kaori-san._ "Even if I did, he won't listen to me." He said.

Kannon nodded, understanding him fully. "He is a stubborn person, that Bunta. Even as a kid, he won't listen to the others and just does what he wants." Glancing at him for a while, he added, "So, what are you going to do now?"

He blinked. "What do you mean by that?" Seiichi asked.

"How are you going to prove to sugar-rush that you see Kaori-chan as a friend and not as a potential girlfriend, which I'm not saying that she is not girlfriend-material, if you're wondering." He elaborated. "Also, I don't think that I'll be able to tell her all about this so this is the only way I could only think of," He pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket and unfolded it.

Seiichi looked at the paper curiously. "What is that?"

Kannon smirked. "This is what I had in mind."

* * *

Three days after, the Kantou Tournament began and Rikkai, as usual, won the game against their first opponents with ease. They're determined to win this time and to face Seigaku in the nationals. Seiichi pushed all of the regulars, including himself, to their limits and did not let any of them go easy. They trained hard each day, putting all of their effort so that they will become the champions. When it was 5:45, Seiichi ended today's practice.

"Damn, today's more brutal than usual." Niou panted as he wiped the sweat from his jaw.

"It can't be helped, though. We have to do this until we get to face against Seishun Gakuen." Jackal said as he drank water from his water bottle.

Akaya removed his already sweaty shirt and breathed deeply. "We're definitely going to win this year." He said determinedly. _And I'm going to beat that smiling Fuji._

Seiichi checked the time again and after that, he picked up his things. Sanada and Renji watched him closely, not uttering a single word. They knew their captain was hiding something but they couldn't tell what it was since Seiichi was good at hiding things from them. "Next practice will be on Friday afternoon. Dismissed."

As soon as he left, Sanada and Renji went to an empty corner of the tennis courts where any one would not hear them. "Something's up." Renji spoke as he noted that no one's near them.

Sanada nodded. "He won't budge as usual."

"I'm positively sure that it concerns with Marui and his friend." He stated.

"Ogawa? That girl?" the fukubuchou raised an eyebrow at him. "Why is she involved?"

"Simple," Renji nodded once. "If you noticed Marui more closely, you can see that he's less himself when he talks to Seiichi. He's not very good at hiding his emotions, you see." He told him.

Sanada thought about what he said for a moment and realized it as well. "You're right about there but I don't see why Ogawa is connected in this."

"I've got sufficient evidence as to why she's involved and the reason behind it is that Seiichi visits her once or twice in every week at her place." The data specialist said coolly.

"Why is Yukimura visiting her?" he asked.

"As far as I can gather, both of them have the same hobby." He said simply. "He helps her maintain the flowers and plants at the greenhouse that Ogawa takes care of."

"Hm." Sanada nodded once. "That's the only reason but then, Marui---"

Renji nodded. "That's right."

They didn't talk for a while, letting the silence take over.

"If that is so, Yukimura must be…"

"That is something we have to find out, Genichirou." He said finally. "We still lack facts and if this continues," he paused.

"There will be a high chance that we might lose in any of our incoming matches in the tournament." Sanada finished it. "Nevertheless, the two of them shouldn't lose their concentration no matter what happens to them. They should know better not to mix their personal affairs here."

"True. For now, we'll just watch them and if the worst case scenario happens," Renji said.

"We'll have to interfere. This is going to problematic." He said flatly.

"No choice. We'll just have to do our part." Renji muttered as he and the fukubuchou decided to go home.

_**

* * *

Sorry for the really long wait yet again. My finals just started yesterday and I have to study which right now I'm temporarily not…eheheh.**_

_**Nothing much really happened in this chapter, huh? Mostly about hiding and suspicions between each other. Sorry about that. Something good or bad, your choice, will happen in the next chapter and I hope that you'll enjoy it.**_

_**For now, have this chapter. Please review. (Edited...thank god)**_


	11. Yes but No

Seiichi stood in front of the entrance doors of the Ogawa residence. For the first time in his life, he was unsure of what he's doing. He was a careful person, thinking of each and every step he took, not wanting to cause any problem to anyone he knew but of course, he did try to be reckless once but his teammates stopped him from doing it and he was grateful to them. He sighed, _Maybe I should leave before Bunta sees me_, he said mentally but the very thought of seeing Kaori made him stay and with that, he pressed the doorbell once and waited.

He heard a small crash inside and distinct footsteps became louder by the second. The door swung open and before him stood Kannon, looking dishevelled as usual. "Good you arrived on time!" He said while panting.

The Rikkai Buchou stared at him. _What happened to him? _"Ah yes."

"Well come on, get you butt in here." He said scratchily as he stood aside to let him enter. "She's in her room as usual." He whispered.

He nodded once and both of them went to the blind girl's room. He somehow felt his heart beating faster knowing that he would finally meet her again.

Kannon made a stop and knocked the door twice. "Kaori-chan, you have a visitor for today." He said casually as he opened the door and motioned his companion to enter with him.

"Eh? Is it Bunta-kun?" Kaori asked innocently as she sat motionless on her sofa.

"Not really but you also know this person." Her brother said casually as he gave Seiichi the signal.

Seiichi made his way towards her and knelt before her, giving her a bouquet of purple Hyacinth. "Kaori-san." He said softly.

Kaori gasped a little as she felt his hands touching hers. "Seiichi-san…" She accepted the bouquet carefully and placed it on top of her lap.

"I'm sorry for suddenly not visiting you." He said honestly. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"I-it's okay…Bunta-kun told me that you were busy with schoolwork and tennis practices and I don't want to be of burden to you." She said gently.

Seiichi frowned inwardly and wanted to tell her that he had time to visit her as many occasions as he wanted but he knew better not to tell her anything about it at all. "I was rather busy before but now I have the time to be here with you and that's what matters the most, ne?" he said with a smile.

"I understand." She nodded but a tear escaped from her eyes.

He noticed it right away and raised his hand and wiped it away gently by using his index finger. "Don't cry. Please smile for me."

"I'm crying because I'm happy that my friend is here." She said simply as a smile graced on her lips. "What kind of flowers did you give me?"

"Purple Hyancith." He answered.

"You don't need to say sorry again." She whispered. "I'm not mad at you."

"But I didn't call you---"

"It doesn't matter. You visited me and I'm fine with just that." She said that.

As they talked silently, Kannon was watching them with utter displeasure. He was happy that he was able to make his sister smile again but he was deeply annoyed at the same time because she became like that because a certain high school boy visited her. _She's too young to have a boyfriend! _And with that statement inside his head, he chose to slightly interrupt their moment. He faked cough and said sarcastically, "You two are quite chummy there while I'm still here. It's as if I'm not in this room right now."

The two teenagers flushed slightly and this made the young adult smirk. "I-I'm sorry Kannon-niisan. If you want, you can join us." Kaori said quietly, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Oh thanks for the offer but I'd rather not." He said dismissively. "So, I'll be leaving this room and do some important stuff on my own while you two have a wonderful time talking to each other like a couple and oh don't mind me rambling here and think that I'm annoyed but I'm definitely not."

Seiichi and Kaori sweat dropped as the Kannon continued to talk. _He's definitely annoyed. _As soon as he left the room, neither one of them uttered a word. Seiichi felt uncomfortable all of a sudden and so did Kaori, all thanks to Kannon. Finally, Seiichi decided to break the silence. "Ne you look nicer with your new haircut." He complimented.

"You think so?" She asked. "Kannon-niisan said that my hair was too long for me so he and I went outside to get it cut." Her hair was shorter; semi-layered just above her shoulders and her bangs with a bit uneven, giving her off a look of cuteness for some reason.

"Well, you look cuter with it." He chuckled and he didn't know that what he said made her blush.

"A-ah thank you for the complimenting me."

While they were talking, they didn't realize that Bunta was already at the entrance of the house. The self-proclaimed genius knocked the door thrice and waited for Ami to open the door but he didn't expect Kannon to open it for him. "Ah Kannon, I'm here to visit Kaori-chan." He chirped.

"Is that so? Well, bad timing because she's sleeping right now. Why won't you visit next time or better yet, call me so I can fix a schedule for you. he said to him hastily. _This is a bad timing._

Marui stared at him in disbelief. "What? A schedule? What for?"

"Ehhh for personal reasons that only I am capable of knowing." He reasoned with him. _Stop asking, will you?_

"Why? Did something bad happen to her?" he insisted as he tried to enter but the other male stopped him. "You're acting suspicious, you know." He stated.

"Suspicious you say? Then you must be hallucinating." He said persistently.

"Am not."

"Now really Bunta, you should really let her rest for a while. I mean, it's not like she's going anywhere, right? And besides, you don't want her to get fed up with you visiting her three times a week right?"

The last bit hit him really bad that he said, looking defeated, "I guess you're right there. Well, I'll be off then. Tell Kaori-chan that I was here."

"Will do." He said with a wide forced smile on his face as he waved at him. _Glad that's over._ When the redhead was out of sight, he let out a deep sigh. "This is beginning to get troublesome."

* * *

Six days after, Seiichi visited Kaori again with the help of Kannon. He did everything to not make his visits obvious (yet he didn't realize that Renji and Sanada knew about it) and somehow after doing it for a month, he was able to pull off the stunt. He and Kaori did things as usual and they were content about it. They didn't speak too much towards each other; they knew that as long as they did things together, words didn't matter as they spent time tending the gardens at her place.

"Ne Kaori-san," Seiichi called. They were at the backyard where the two of them sat on a bench.

"What is it Seiichi-san?" she responded.

"You want to visit my house next Sunday?" he offered but stopped and realized that what he proposed was a mistake.

"E-eh?" she flushed slightly.

"I'm sorry. What I mean to say is that would you want to visit my garden at my place?" he corrected himself.

"O-of course. I would love to." She said with her cheeks a bit red.

"Your brother will have to come though." He added. _Because he might strangle me for god-knows what he thinks._ "Is that all right with you?"

"I don't mind at all."

"That's good, then. My sister wanted to meet you, after all." He said, looking relieved.

"You mean Reiko-san?" she perked up. It's been a while she last talked with another female other than the maids. "I wanted to meet her as well."

"I'm sure both of you will get along just fine but she's a bit energetic than usual." He said with a smile.

* * *

Five days after, Sunday finally arrived. Around midday, Kannon helped his sister go inside the car they're using. He entered inside as well, buckled himself with a seat belt, and ignited the engine that caused the car to come to life. Grumbling slightly, he drove all the way to Seiichi's house with an assortment of thoughts swimming inside his head. After a couple of minutes, they finally arrived. He pulled over but made no attempt to go outside.

Facing his sister, he said seriously, "Are you sure you want to go to his house? You can still escape you know."

"That would mean I broke my promise with him." She said simply.

Kannon sighed deeply. "There's no helping it, huh?" _Why must this happen?!_ He finally got out of the vehicle, and walked over to the other side where he opened it for her. He held her hand and helped her got out of it as well. "Well, we're here." He walked beside her as he continued to hold her hand until they finally reached the entrance door. Reluctantly, he raised his hand and pressed the doorbell and waited shortly.

In less than a minute, the door finally opened and in front of them stood a young girl. "It's you visitor-jiichan!" she exclaimed.

The young adult sighed mentally. "Didn't I tell you last time that I'm not that old? Look, I don't have white hair." He insisted as he pointed his head but he knew that it was futile so he had to let it go. "Never mind. Is your brother there?"

"You mean Seiichi-niichan? He's upstairs. I'll call him!" she said with a toothy grin as she let the two of them enter the household.

When she left, Kaori giggled a bit. "She's a lively one, isn't she?" she asked her brother.

"Quite lively." He said. "Let's go to the living room." He said dismissively as he led her to the living room.

"Eh? You know where it is?"

"…yes." He replied.

When they entered the room, he made her sit on the couch, him sitting beside her and waited. Not long after, they heard footsteps getting louder by the second and finally, Seiichi arrived with his sister behind him. "You finally arrived." He said with a smile.

"Yeah, we did." He nodded once.

Seiichi motioned his sister to move forward and said gently, "Reiko, her name is Kaori-san. Be nice to her, okay?"

"Okay!" she responded. "My name is Reiko! It's nice to meet you!"

Kaori smiled softly in return. "It's nice to meet you as well. My name is Kaori."

"Ne Kaori-neesan, are you dating Seiichi-niisan?" she asked randomly.

Seiichi choked slightly whereas Kannon gaped and Kaori blushed deeply. "What?! Both of them dating? Impossible!" Kannon protested.

"Why not? They look good together!" she said happily, making the two of the teenagers blush even more. "You don't like it, do you visitor-jiichan?"

Kannon shook his head furiously. "Of course I don't! She's too young to date anyone!"

Seiichi intervened. "…now is not the time you should take her seriously, Ogawa-san."

"All I'm saying that my dear sister is not ready to date anyone---" he rambled but stopped because his cellphone rang. Sighing, he pulled it out from his pocket and answered it. "Kannon here. What? You're joking, right? No, that's highly impossible. Have you checked it? No? Well, do it. Yes. I'll be there. Ah. Bye." Muttering some words to himself, he faced them with a grim smile on his face and said sadly, "Well, I can't stay here. Something came up just now so I have to leave." He turned to his sister and bended himself, giving her a small peck on the forehead. "I'll pick you up later, okay?"

She nodded. "Take care, Kannon-niisan."

"Ah I will. And as for you," his tone of voice changed as soon as he put his attention towards Seiichi, who blinked in return. "I could care less if you aren't interested in her but even so, you'll better take care of her or you'll never see daylight again. Got that?" he hissed.

"Hai hai." The Rikkai Buchou sweat dropped.

"Good." He nodded and gave him a short pat on the shoulder. "I'll be off then."

When he left the house, Seiichi let out a small sigh. _What a difficult person but he has a reason to be like that._ Taking his mind off him, he turned to Kaori and said warmly, "Let's go now, shall we?"

* * *

Few days after, Marui muttered a couple of words as he walked towards his childhood friend's house. He knew something was going on and for him, he could care less about it as long but if it was concerned about Kaori, then he'll have to find it out. He decided not to press the doorbell and just knocked thrice. Hoping that Kannon won't be the one opening the door, the door swung open and Ami, thankfully for him, was the one who opened for him. "Ami, is Kaori-chan awake?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded at him once and let him enter. "I'll tell her that you arrived."

"Ah please don't. I want to surprise her." He said cheerfully as he made his way to her room.

The maid wanted to tell him something but stopped. _Maybe I shouldn't interfere._

The redhead strode inside the hallway and turned right where the first door he saw was Kaori's room. He opened the door quietly and slipped himself inside, not wanting to be discovered for a while. There, he saw her sitting on a big chair near the window, as though thinking of something deeply. He was breathless at the sight before him and took a quick breath. He went in front of her and held the object firmly in his hand. He then placed it on top of her lap and earned a reaction.

"Eh?" she responded. She slowly touched it and said softly, "It's a bouquet of flowers."

Grinning, he held her hands and said happily, "Ne Kaori-chan."

"Bunta-kun?" she called, sounding a bit surprised.

"You seemed surprised. Are you expecting someone else?" he joked.

_Somehow, yes. _But she knew that she shouldn't answer that so she said, "No, of course not. I thought you're Kannon-niisan."

"Is that so? Then my surprise is a big success." He grinned. "Ne Kaori-chan," the redhead called her name again.

"What is it Bunta-kun?"

"Guess what kind of flowers I bought for you." He said playfully.

"Um okay." She slowly traced the flower by her fingers and did her best in unravelling the flower until she could not guess it any longer though she could tell that most of it were except the one in the middle were not bloomed. "I'm sorry but I can't really guess it."

"That's okay. You don't need to apologize." He said nonchalantly. "I'll tell you what I gave you anyway and it's simple. Roses."

She felt her heart stopped beating for a second. "Roses?"

"Un. Guess what colour they have."

"…Yellow?" she guessed.

"Wrong. Try again."

"…Peach?"

"Wrong again."

The blind girl pursed her lips slightly. "Red?"

Marui smiled genuinely. "You got it right." He leaned close to her and said sincerely, "I love you Kaori-chan."

"B-bunta-kun---" she called. Sadly, she was stopped abruptly because the volley specialist covered it with his lips against hers. It was light and expectedly sweet like candy, Kaori thought. When he withdrew himself from her, she finally found her voice again and said, "Bunta-kun, I---"

"I really like you, Kaori-chan. Ever since childhood." He said softly. "I don't mind if I wait for your answer but before telling me your answer, can we at least have one date to prove that I'm serious?"

Kaori never expected this. She thought she was dreaming at the moment but she knew that it was really happening to her. "I…okay." She answered. She didn't want to hurt his feelings but she knew that saying yes to date him and having no mutual feelings with him was just as bad as rejecting him. _I'm sorry Kannon-niisan…_

_**

* * *

There you have it.**_

_**So the two of them will be dating, huh? Whoop tee doo~ Lol that just entered into my silly brain while I am making this chapter. Just to make things more exciting and at least Marui's going to have his spotlight in the next chapter, right? Good good. **_

_**Now, how will Seiichi react to this when he hears this? Hmm…well, we'll just have to find out, right? Please review!**_


	12. Confirmation

"5 games to 4! Bunta leading!" Jackal shouted.

Niou whistled as he bounced the ball a couple of times. "Ohh you got me on that one, glucose-addict. But," smirking, he tossed the ball up in the air, copying the serving position of a certain Seigaku ace regular, and hit it hard. "You're still going to lose, Puri."

"Like I'm going to let you win that easily!" the self-proclaimed genius said determinedly as he countered it.

The trickster raised an eyebrow as he switched his playing style into Eiji Kikumaru's as he noticed the ball was going to the opposite direction. Facing on the right side, he leaned a bit and put his racket behind, hitting the ball back with ease. "Yeah right." The game continued and in the end, much to the redhead's annoyance, Niou won against him, having won 3 games straight. "You think you can actually win against me? Ha. In your dreams." He said boisterously, smirking as always.

"Che. You just got lucky." Marui growled as he took out another piece of gum and stuffed it inside his mouth. As he chewed, he suddenly thought of Kaori and began to smile dreamily, completely forgetting his lost match with Niou.

Some of the regulars noticed his sudden change of behavior and watched him warily as though something else might happen. "What just…happened to him?" Akaya said slowly as he watched the redhead chuckle and even giggle, which made the junior ace grimace.

"I don't even want to know." Niou said hastily, finding his teammate's actions nauseating for some reason but shook his head quickly and shot a knowing look at Jackal. "But if it's something interesting, we should at least investigate about it, right?"

The brazilian sweat dropped slightly. "I…guess so."

"Good, now go and ask him!" he urged. "Come on now!" Giving him a small push, Jackal finally moved towards his doubles partner who was still in his dreamland. "Atta boy Jackal!" the trickster grinned but earned a hard look from Sanada, with his were Renji and Hiroshi, not very far. "What's with the look, Puri? I'm not doing anything bad."

"What are you planning?" he demanded.

"Be honest with us, Niou." Renji said curtly.

Shrugging, he answered nonchalantly, "We're just going to know what made Marui act like some love-struck high school girl."

"Masaharu, choose appropriate words." Hiroshi said sternly.

"Hey I'm not cursing, right? At least that's good enough." He huffed.

They didn't say anything to him and the fukubuchou turned to the other two regulars' direction instead. "Hn."

Meanwhile, Jackal was having trouble asking his partner. Even though they were close, he knew that asking such a question was definitely not a right thing to do. He took a quick glance behind; Niou gave him two thumbs up while Akaya nodded his head furiously, making hand signals that meant that he should ask Marui now. He even noticed Sanada, Hiroshi and Renji were watching as well and because of that, he felt more pressured. "Ah Bunta," he called.

Marui didn't seem to hear him and just continued to wander inside his dreamland.

Jackal didn't want to take this any longer and had no choice but to hit him on the head. "Bunta!" he called yet again.

The redhead yelped at the sudden contact and massaged his crown, frowning slightly. "What was that for, Jackal?" He pouted.

Sighing, he said, "You didn't reply when I called you so I have to hit you."

"Oh."

"So, what were you thinking that made you ignore me?" the brazilian asked inaudibly as he pretended to sound and act curious.

Marui suddenly perked up and began his dreamy state. "I'm just really happy! Thinking about it makes me happy inside so much that's all!" he said abstractedly.

"And what would that be?"

"Kaori-chan said to yes to go out on a date with me!" he said happily.

Even from their position, Niou and the rest of the regulars heard his joyful declaration. "…what did he say?" Akaya stared. "I just think I heard him wrong."

"No, that's what he said alright, Puri." The trickster said. "So Kaori-chan said yes to date with Marui? That's kind of surprising."

"What's surprising?"

"Didn't you hear? That idiot said Kaori-chan agreed to go on a date with him!" Niou repeated as he turned around to face the person who asked.

It was no other than Seiichi. "Kaori-san's going out on a date with Bunta?"

"Uhh yeah, that's what he said just now." the trickster said scratchily.

Seiichi didn't bother to answer him. His mind kept on repeating the same words. _She and Bunta are going out together…together on a date…_He felt disturbed and merely thinking about it made him feel somewhat upset and jealous without his very knowledge. "I see…good for him." He said absentmindedly.

Sanada and Renji gave each other a look when they heard him. _He sounds unsure of himself._ Renji said mentally.

_He still doesn't see it…_, the fukubuchou sighed inwardly. "Yukimura," he called.

The rikkai buchou snapped out of his own thoughts and gave his full attention to his vice-captain. "Let's end today's practice, ne?"

He gave him a short nod. "Okay all of you are dismissed! Practice is over!" he shouted.

* * *

Seiichi decided to be the last person to leave the tennis ground for he believed he needed some alone-time. He walked slowly, still thinking about what he heard earlier and the same pained feeling recurred. He sighed and let out a weak laugh to himself. "I'm losing my mind here." He knew that it won't go away that easily so he decided to go to the street tennis courts and find some suitable tennis players to play with, hoping that it would help him get off his mind about Marui's moment of happiness.

After a couple of minutes, he finally arrived at the courts where a couple of tennis players from other schools hung out. He searched for an empty court, walking around the place a bit until he finally found one at the far left end of the place. He put his tennis bag down, unzipping it and taking one of his rackets out. Then, a familiar voice called him. "Oi aren't you Yukimura Seiichi from Rikkai Dai?"

He turned around and saw no other than Tachibana Kippei from Fudomine High School. "You're Tachibana Kippei from Fudomine, right?"

He nodded shortly in confirmation as he settled his bag on a nearby bench at the other side of the court. "Want to play a game against me? A 3-point match if you don't mind." He asked as he took out his racket.

The rikkai buchou smiled in reply. "Sure."

Both took opposite sides of the court, facing each other. "Smooth or Rough?" The Fudomine buchou asked.

"Smooth." He answered.

Kippei twirled his racket and let it fall as it continued to turn around until it finally came in contact with the ground. It was smooth. "You're lucky." He commented as he picked his racket up.

"You think so?" he mused. _You know that you're not exactly lucky at everything, especially about that 'certain thing' you just heard recently…_

_I don't know what you're talking about._

_In denial, are we? Hm let's talk about__ it later, you should serve the ball now._

He snapped back to reality as he realized what he should be doing right now. He threw thew ball in the air and hit it hard as he aimed it at Tachibana's left side.

Kippei knew that he would be aiming at his left so he chased after the ball and used a backhand shot to return the ball. Again, he knew that it would become a rally between them. None of them wouldn't budge and show their true potential since the Kantou Tournament still wasn't over. As each returned their attacks, Kippei noticed something was somewhat wrong: His opponent, Seiichi, wasn't concentrating that much even if he managed to return all of his shots. He was a bit disappointed, feeling as if he would lose to someone whose concentration wasn't at its fullest, even if this game was simply a friendly match.

Deciding to get a bit serious and gaining his attention, he simply used a drop shot, and it did the trick.

"You're quite good." Seiichi commented.

"Not exactly, you're not concentrating on the game, it seems." He pointed out. "Is something bothering you?" he said questioningly.

The rikkai buchou was slightly taken aback. "No. Nothing's troubling me."

"Though we're not friends but merely acquaintances," he said casually as he took out another ball and bounced it on the ground repeatedly. "You can tell me what's bothering you. That's the least I could offer." He said simply as he began to serve the ball with more power in it.

Putting more determination, he returned the ball quickly and decided to concentrate on the game further. Though he didn't show it, he was clearly surprised that someone that he only meet during the tournament would be able to see through him by just mere observance. Within ten minutes, the friendly match was over, having him as the winner.

"As expected from a Rikkai Dai regular." Kippei breathed as he wiped some sweat from his face with a small towel.

"You should say so yourself." Seiichi complimented him. "I know you're holding back and you've improved quite a lot."

The fudomine smirked at him. "You noticed?"

"Ah." He nodded. After a short moment of silence, he spoke, "Ne Tachibana-san."

Kippei looked at him. "What is it?"

"There is something that is troubling me lately." He said to him. "You don't mind if you listen to me?"

He shook his head and replied, "If it helps you." They didn't bother sitting and the rikkai buchou began telling him what bothered him, knowing that Kippei was trustworthy about certain things like these. After a couple of minutes, he was finally done. "Oh you don't get it, do you?" he asked, looking a bit surprised.

"What do you mean?"

He simply stared at him and stifled a laugh. "My younger sister Ann have almost the same problem as you do but in a different perspective, that is." He said simply. "The only difference is that she's been chased after by two tennis players, namely one of my teammates Kamio Akira and another one from Seigaku, Momoshiro Takeshi." He added.

Seiichi raised an eyebrow at the information he just learned.

"It was pretty obvious from us and maybe some of the regulars from the other teams that Kamio had a secret attraction towards my sister since junior high. During the Kantou Tournament, my sister befriended Momoshiro from Seigaku and it made Kamio really jealous. It was quite funny to watch him get all riled up whenever he sees those two together, really." He chuckled. "Ann wasn't really the type of girl who's into dating at that time so she didn't fuss over it, so did Momoshiro."

"So your teammate Kamio-san misunderstood the relationship between your sister and the aggressive baseliner of Seigaku?" Seiichi said inquiringly.

"At first, yes." He nodded. "But as soon as they entered high school, everything changed. Because of Kamio's persistence, he was able to make Ann say yes to him on a date and when Momoshiro heard this, it was clear that he was simply jealous and yet he didn't know he was actually jealous."

"And what happened next?"

"What happened to them?" he repeated. "It doesn't matter what happened. If you listened carefully, I'm trying to tell you that you're in Momoshiro's situation." Kippei said simply. "You're actually jealous when you heard that your teammate was going out with that girl you like." He pointed out.

"You're mistaken. I do not like her that way." He shook his head.

"And let me ask you this, do you feel your insides twinge whenever you think about the two of them going out?" he questioned him.

"…yes."

"And you think it's wrong that the two of them shouldn't be going out?" he questioned him yet again.

"…yes, but only because I believe it would ruin Bunta's concentration and that both of them are childhood friends." He said quickly.

Kippei raised an eyebrow. "That's your reason? Are you sure?"

"…no."

"Last question, what do you think of the girl?"

When he heard those very same words, he suddenly remembered the time when Bunta asked him on that day. "I…she makes me feel at ease whenever I'm with her. It's as if we've known each other for a long time." He said finally.

"Well, that's your answer." He said, looking relieved. "You're really stubborn you know? Both in tennis and in yourself."

"How do you know?" he asked him as he heaved his bag and carried behind his back.

"It's pretty obvious I guess." He shrugged.

"You should be a guidance counselor." Seiichi told him, chuckling.

"You're not the only one telling me that." He said as he carried his own bag. "Anyway, it's okay if you like someone. There's no harm in it, just as long as you are able to separate it from your duties and responsibilities. I mean, I did see your vice-captain with a girl last week." He said nonchalantly.

The rikkai buchou stared at him. "Genichirou is with a girl?" he repeated.

Kippei blinked at him. "You don't know about it? Hm I guess he didn't tell you. I thought you two are friends."

"I thought so as well." He muttered. "It was nice talking to you. I hope we get to meet each other again in the nationals again." Seiichi said while smiling.

The fudomine buchou smirked. "Of course you'll see my team again in the nationals. Ja Yukimura."

"Ah." And as the two separated their ways, he found out a two new things. Firstly, he liked Kaori more than he anticipated and secondly, Sanada had a girlfriend, which he found it quite disappointing since he didn't hear it from the very source. He took out his cell phone from his bag and dialled someone's number. After a short wait, the other person answered the call and said indifferently, "Sanada speaking, who is this?"

Seiichi's smile grew wider. "Genichirou, I would like ask you about that girlfriend of yours…" _You're going to get punished for not telling your friend about this, Gen-chan,_ he smiled sadistically as he began to torment his teammate.

_**

* * *

Hmm…I made Seiichi a bit OOC near the end. Sorry. Won't be doing that again.**_

_**Well, I was planning on using Atobe or Saeki to have a friendly match against Seiichi and have his inner turmoil to get over with but then again, these two aren't much of a help when it comes to those things so I chose Tachibana Kippei since he seemed pretty much mature and sensible when it comes to those things.**_

_**What do you think? Okay, I moved Marui's spotlight in the next chapter so yeah…I hope you like this chapter and please review!**_


	13. About him

_**For the readers who read my very first POT fic, Unique, I would like to know if you want me to make a one-shot fic of Ai and Atobe's wedding. Please go to my profile cuz there's a poll there! If you don't mind to answer it that is! Well, please read down!**_

* * *

"Yukimura…" Sanada growled.

Seiichi turned around to face him, a playful smile plastered on his lips. "Yes, Gen-chan?" he asked pleasantly. "Is there something wrong?" he asked in a perfectly fake innocent tone.

The fukubuchou knew what that tone means. _He's furious._ "Yes, there is if you noticed." He gritted his teeth.

They were in entrance of Rikkai Dai and the sannin bakemono were together. Renji was rather amused at the scene while Seiichi continued to smile cheerfully as if nothing happened. Sanada, however, was under pressure and pretty much, he was having an unpleasant time.

_Sanada was just walking with them early in the morning when they entered the school grounds, they heard simultaneous footsteps that more likely sounded a stampede and in front of them were a large pack of females, particularly Sanada fangirls, came charging towards their direction. "Sanada-sama!" they chorused._

_He was about to avoid them when he felt someone grasped his wrist. He looked back and saw Seiichi with a smile that meant something else. "Where do you think you're going Gen-chan?" he asked enthusiastically._

_For the second time in his life, he sweat dropped. The next thing the fukubuchou knew, he was surrounded by his worshippers, hearing the very same question in his ears._

Going back, the Sanada fangirls kept on asking. "Sanada-sama! Is it true that you're seeing someone else?" one girl near him tugged at his sleeves.

"Is she studying here? Where is she studying?!" another girl asked frantically.

"Is she prettier than me? Oh please it's not true!" a girl with brown hair clung to his right arm with tears in her eyes.

"Don't tell me she's a better kisser! Sanada-sama, I'm way better than that girl you're seeing with! Let me show you!" a girl bellowed as she tried to lung herself at him.

He did a quick reaction and held up his bag in front of his face to protect himself. It saved him. Grudgingly, he tried to fend himself from them as he made his way to his classroom. He took a short glance at the corner of his eyes and saw Seiichi and Renji watching him from afar. The rikkai buchou was still smiling at him. _He's not yet satisfied. Che._

When he was out of sight with the rest of his fangirls at his tail, Renji let out a small sigh. "You're quite mean to him, huh?" he mused, his head turning to Seiichi's direction.

"I'm not that mean, Renji. And besides, it's still early to forgive him." He said, chuckling.

The data specialist shook his head a little. _Sadistic buchou_. "And you have to use Niou and Akaya to spread this across the whole school premises?"

"It makes things easier for me since I'm busy with schoolwork, club work, and student council work." He answered simply. "They even put up posters for everyone to see. I think it's quite good." He added, complimenting his two troublemaking regulars.

"Glad you like our little hard work, buchou." A familiar voice said suddenly.

Seiichi turned to his right and gave him a sadistic smile. "Of course I do. I knew that you're going to do this small task well." He said coolly.

"I'm honoured." He smirked as well. "So, I was wondering, how were you able to know this small piece of information? I'm curious." He asked him.

"A good friend of mine told me few days ago." He said simply. "He just saw Genichirou with her on a weekend."

"I see." He nodded. He checked the time on his wristwatch and said quickly, "I'd better get going. See ya."

"Ah." Seiichi and Renji nodded.

* * *

When the bell rang, signalling that lunch break began, he was quickly surrounded by his own fangirls and some guys who were curious about the news. Grudgingly, he trudged his way out of the room and did a fast pace towards the cafeteria where his team mates were. As he passed each classroom, a couple of more females followed him until a horde of them were just behind him, asking him non-stop about the same question since morning. He even heard some of the students whispering about it and it made him feel quite annoyed.

"Is it really true that Sanada got a girlfriend?"

"Ho that's sounds impossible to happen. We all know that he acts strict and all. Maybe the girl's like him."

"Yeah I think so as well. That girl has no tastes at all."

Sanada snapped. He approached them and gave them a mean glare. "You don't know her so keep your mouth shut."

The two male students had gone pale and nodded furiously.

His fangirls saw this and they immediately cornered him, looking more worried than ever. "Waah no this can't be Sanada-sama! You can't possibly date someone else!" they whined.

Having enough, he shot them a serious look and said angrily, "I just did. Leave now."

Shocked, saddened, and angry, they finally left him alone.

The fukubuchou sighed, massaging his temples. He continued to walk until he finally arrived the cafeteria and as he entered, almost everyone in the room stared at him, which he completely ignored. He went to the table where his teammates are and sat with them. "I'll let you meet her." He said shortly.

Niou, Akaya Jackal and Marui took a short look at Seiichi, waiting for him to answer.

"When?" he asked as he took a small sip from his drink.

"Later during practice. I already sent her a message and she said yes." He mumbled.

The rikkai buchou smiled genuinely. "Good decision you made." He said naturally.

_He's completely forgiven Sanada already. That was fast. _The rest of the regulars said mentally as they continued to eat.

* * *

When classes were over, after-school club activities began. As usual, Seiichi trained his team hard since they entered in the nationals. They've heard that Hyotei was beaten by Seigaku into going to the finals and that they worked harder for it.

The others thought Seiichi completely forgiven Sanada but actually not fully. Seiichi ordered the fukubuchou to do 210 laps around the court. As he watched his teammate suffer, he didn't seem to notice a new face arrive in the grounds until he heard her mutter. "Ara Ichirou-kun's working hard as usual."

He tilt his head to the left and saw the person. He walked towards her and asked politely, "Are you Genichirou's girlfriend?"

The girl nodded shortly. "And you must be Yukimura-san."

Seiichi smiled warmly to her. "Genichirou, you can stop your laps now. Your maiden is here." He chuckled.

The other regulars and some of the students nearby heard him and gradually stopped what they're doing. Niou and rest approached them, meeting the girl. Sanada went to them as well, sweating slightly because of the laps. The girl, took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped some of the sweat off from his face. "You've been working too much, Ichirou-kun." She said gently.

The fukubuchou flushed a little, mumbling a couple of words back. The other regulars were shocked while Akaya and Marui snickered at the scene. "So, aren't you going to introduce her to us?" the trickster began, his eyes glinting.

"Her name's Satsuki Kimura." He said shortly.

The girl bowed to them and said pleasantly, "It's nice to finally meet you, Ichirou-kun's team mates. He didn't seem to want me to meet you guys for some reason when i asked him about meeting you though." She added. She had long ash-colored hair, her slightly long bangs side-swept on the right side, showing her deep grey eyes. She was around 5'5'' tall and she seemed confident in herself.

Seiichi gave Sanada a meaningful look. "Is that so? I wonder…" he mused. _Maybe the fact that my teammates and I would tease him to no end._

"Nice to meet you Satsuki-chan, the name's Niou Masaharu. You can call me Haru if you like." Niou introduced himself as he gave her a sexy wink.

"Aren't you the trickster of the team? I've heard that you've been giving the school a lot of problems." She said to him.

"Not really, most of them are for fun." He grinned.

Sanada shot him a glare meant to behave properly in front of her.

"Ne Satsuki-chan, how did you and fukubuchou meet?" Akaya piped and the others seem to want to know about it.

"Eh? Didn't he tell you?" Satsuki gave her boyfriend a curious look and said simply, "We meet when my family visited them almost 8 months ago. My grandfather and his grandfather were good friends and since my family couldn't go with him, I volunteered to go with him. That's when I met Ichirou-kun. He was quite intimidating at first but he's really good person." She told him. "We talked a bit and showed me around his house and we hung out at the dojo."

"Is that it?" Niou pressed on.

"Well, after a couple of days, my grandfather wanted to make another visit and I volunteered again. We talked more and had a bit of a sparing match. He won of course." She added thoughtfully.

"Sparing match?" Marui repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

Sanada interrupted. "She's a black belter in Judo and Taekwondo."

_No wonder she's his girlfriend,_ Seiichi, Renji, Jackal and Hiroshi thought.

"Oh. So, who asked who on a date?" the demon ace asked yet again.

"Well, after meeting and talking with him a couple of times, I was about to ask him but then he asked me first after sparing a bit. It wasn't romantic or anything but it's okay." She said.

"And you've been dating for…?" Niou trailed off.

"4 months after getting to know each other for two months." She answered.

Niou, Marui and Akaya whistled. "That was fast."

"I never knew he had it in him." The trickster whispered.

"I know. He looks…you know, like he can't date." Akaya said in a low voice.

"Yeah, I thought he was gay or something." Marui stated.

Sanada twitched. "You three, 200 laps now." He growled.

"Aww are you embarrassed _ichirou-kuun?_" Niou purred as he cackled, followed by Marui and Akaya's laughing.

"300 laps." He glared.

"Haii _ICHIROU-KUUUNN~_"

Hiroshi shook his head lightly. "I must apologize for his actions. He has brain damage, you see." He gentleman said bluntly.

"Do NOT!" Niou's voice bellowed few feet away from them.

Seiichi chuckled. "Well, this is the Rikkai Dai Tennis club. What do you think?" he asked Satsuki.

"It's really nice. No wonder Ichirou-kun likes it here." She said earnestly. Her phone suddenly rang so she took it out and answered it. She began talking to the person and nodded a couple of times before it ended. She whispered something to Sanada and faced the other regulars. "My mother called me so I have to go now. It was nice meeting all of you." She said politely. "You don't have to escort me out of the school since the nationals began." She added to Sanada.

"Hm." He replied.

"Eh? You're leaving already?" Niou bellowed as he ran around the court for the 30th time.

She gave him an apologetic smile and said, "I'll try to visit you guys again. Bye." She waved at them and walked away but stopped. She turned back and quickly pecked Sanada on the left cheek and said cheerfully, "Don't forget about this coming Sunday, Ichirou-kun." And with that, she left.

Sanada wasn't able to say anything back to her because of what she did. The rikkai buchou eyed on him a bit and chuckled, "You got a really cute girlfriend. You must be really happy about it."

"Shut up." The fukubuchou glared at him, his cheeks tainted in a small shade of pink.

Renji and Hiroshi stared at those two, then at each other, and shook their heands lightly. _Things never change, do they?_

* * *

On Sunday, Sanada was walking with Satsuki at the park. They talked about what happened to them lately as they walked around. His girlfriend giggled and laughed when he bluntly told her what really happened before she went to Rikkai Dai. He bought her a strawberry and mango crepe and gave it to her.

They sat on a bench and think say anything else since Satsuki ate. She was about to take another bite on the crepe but stopped, eyeing on Sanada for a bit. "Ne Ichirou-kun, did you tell Yukimura-san that you knew about what he felt for the girl?" she asked all of a sudden.

"No." he answered shortly. "I noticed that he's himself a bit more, considering that he had fun torturing me." He added distastefully, still not forgiving him for punishing him for no good reason and him having a girlfriend was not reasonable enough to punish, he thought.

"Really? That's good." She nodded. "But how about that other teammate of yours, Marui-san?" she asked worryingly. "Didn't he and the girl started dating?"

He nodded once. "He's been talking about it to us two days ago. He was…insufferable."

"So what's going to happen, then? I feel sorry for the girl for having her go through that kind of situation." She said sadly. "I'll just hope them for the best, those three."

"Everything will work out. That's always been the case in our team." He said simply.

_**

* * *

Ehhh sorry for not updating in a whole month. **_

_**Hmmm…there seemed to be no Marui moment in this chapter because you guys wanted Sanada but ah well. It doesn't matter anyway. Hmmm…I'll try and do my best to post the upcoming chapters again.**_

_**Ehhh the last bit on Sanada having a talk with Satsuki the OC, well, I just imagined if he would talk about those things. I mean, really. Just guessing lol. And yeah on one part where he snapped when he heard two male students badmouthing the girl, well, I believed Sanada wouldn't tolerate it like everything else.**_

_**I mean, he's Sanada lol. Please review.**_


	14. Waiting

Kannon was busy reading a rather thick textbook in his study room when someone knocked the door from outside. He ruffled his hair, making it messier than usual and said gruffly, "Come in." He didn't bother looking up and said, "What's the matter Ami?"

Ami, who just entered the room, nodded once as she closed the door behind her. She was still wearing casual clothes and her face was slightly flushed as if she made herself do a marathon. "Kannon-san," she called.

The male heir sighed. "You really don't have to call me like that. Just Kannon." He said.

She ignored what he said to her and told him, "I believe there might be a way to regain Kaori-san's eyesight."

Kannon snapped his head and stared at her. "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded. "A professor gave an announcement earlier that we would be having a seminar and one of the speakers is a well-renowned ophthalmologist whose treatments are mostly successful."

"I see." He put aside the book he was using and massaged his temples. "You don't mind if you---?"

"Of course not! Anything for Kaori-san!" She said quickly and blushed after realizing what she did. "W-well, I'd better get changed." She said randomly. Bowing again, she left the room quietly.

He sighed deeply and stretched his arms, yawning a bit after he was left alone in the room again. He stood up, approached the wide window behind him and stared at the darkening sky. "There's still hope, then."

* * *

Marui carried a bouquet of prim roses as he made his way toward Kaori's house. It was a weekend and he called at her place the day before, informing them that he'll be arriving there around midday. He was humming, not feeling tired at the very least considering that he had the weakest stamina in the Rikkai Dai team of regulars. When he arrived in front of their doorstep, he pressed the doorbell and waited.

He heard a couple of noises inside that somewhat piqued his interest but decided to ignored it. When the door was finally opened by Ami, he said cheerfully, "Hey Ami,"

"A-ah Bunta-san, hello to you." She greeted rather oddly.

Marui noticed this and asked, sounding concerned, "Is there something wrong?"

"Of course not! I just sort of ran from the kitchen, that's all. I'm just out of breath." She told him convincingly.

"Are you baking chocolate cookies?" he asked hopefully.

"I was planning to since you called yesterday. I baked blueberry muffins just now if you don't mind." She said.

"Those are still good." He nodded. "So where's Kaori-chan?" he asked.

"She's at the gardens." Ami answered as she let him inside.

"Okay. I'll go to her, then." He said with a smile as he walked his way there.

After a couple of minutes, Ami checked the hallway if he's gone. She went back inside the kitchen where another person stood behind a wall and said in a low tone, "He's at the gardens now, Seiichi-san."

Seiichi let out a small sigh and smiled slightly. "Maybe I shouldn't have visited today." He chuckled.

"I might agree with you on this one." She nodded. She offered him the pastry that she baked and added, "You should leave before he goes here. You know how much he craves for sweets."

"Yes, I should go now." He agreed. He took one piece and checked outside. "You don't mind if you help me check if the coast is really clear, right?" he said.

"Of course not. Come." She walked with him through the hallway until they finally reached the entrance door. "You'd better run now." She said as she closed the door. When she turned around, she saw Marui standing a couple of feet away. "B-bunta-san." She stammered a bit.

"Who's outside just now?" he questioned.

"Just a salesman." Ami answered quickly.

"Oh. He just looked like Mura-buchou because of his hair." He shrugged. "So, can I have the muffins?"

"Sure." _That was close._

* * *

It's been a week since the Kantou finals and the Rikkai Dai regulars heard that Seigaku won over Hyotei. Seiichi, Sanada and Renji decided to make their training menu harder than before, adding laps, player matches, training time, and more. When Sanada realized that it was 6pm, he shouted, "That's enough for today!"

Akaya and Marui were the first to collapse on the ground, panting deeply. "Uwa…Sanada-sempai's pushing us a bit too far." The junior ace panted.

"Seiichi's even letting him do all of this to us. I can't believe. Are they trying to kill us?" Marui breathed as he slowly reached for his water bottle.

"No." Hiroshi said shortly. He took a small towel from the bench, removed his glasses, and wiped his face that was covering in sweat. "They're determined to win this year. That includes us as well." He added.

"Of course I wanted to win but damnit, Renji's training menus are bound to kill either one of us." The self-proclaimed genius said.

"Just stop your yapping. If you can't even stand this kind of training, how are we supposed to win the nationals, huh?" Niou said suddenly as he carelessly removed his shirt. He took his water bottle and used its remaining contents on his head as though to cool him down. "Rikkai Dai regulars don't need whiners, you know." He said seriously.

Marui glared at him and said through gritted teeth, "I'm not whining."

"Sure you are." He snorted. He picked up his racket and his shirt and went inside the club room to get changed.

Marui began muttering under his breath until he felt a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Jackal looking at him. "Come on." The brazilian said. "You shouldn't get angry about what he said. I know you're just as serious as wanting to win the nationals just like the rest of us."

"Yeah." He scratched his head a bit before standing up. "Let's get back inside the room."

After a couple of minutes, all of the members were dressed in their clean clothes. They separated themselves into small groups and part their ways. The sannin bakemono were together as they walked, talking about plays and data until Sanada said something that caught the rikkai buchou off. "You're hiding something from us, Seiichi."

The rikkai buchou replied calmly, "What do you mean by that?"

"Seiichi, we're not that clueless and you know that." Renji said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It'll be easier for you if you'll be honest with Genichirou and I."

He didn't say anything for a moment, so did the other two, and continued to walk until they reached a two way path. "I'll tell you when the time comes." He said finally as he bid them and went to the left direction.

The remaining two watched him until he was out of sight. "We have to take his word on this one." Renji said, sounding a bit amused.

"Hn." He nodded. "He should be."

* * *

Seiichi continued to walk, his pace becoming slower until he stopped. He was at the park, the one where he first met Kaori. He watched the remaining people as he contemplated about what happened earlier and before then. _Do they know that I've been visiting her?_ He asked himself mentally.

_If they do know, they would've talked about it straight to the point. _The same voice at the back of his mind said. _You should tell them._

_Should I?_ He decided not to dwell on it and continued to walk back home. After a moment or so, he finally arrived in front of his home's front doorstep and muttered, "When the time comes."

* * *

"Kannon-niisan?"

The older brother snapped back to reality and looked confused toward his younger sibling, Kaori. "What is it? Is there something you want to ask me?" he said gently. They were at the living room, him reading a pocketbook while the girl was gently petting Ichirou.

"You've been staying inside the study room for days now, Ami told me." She told him. "You should rest." She added, voicing concern over him.

He shrugged and said casually, "Don't worry about me, I'm doing fine." _Especially since there's a way to regain your eyesight._

"Are you sure? You sound a bit stressed." She insisted.

"No, I'm not." He pressed on. "Anyway, how's Yuki-buchou doing? The nationals are starting, I've heard." He said hastily.

"He's doing fine. The whole team's training harder. They really wanted to win this year." She answered him. "And please don't try to change the topic. You're definitely hiding something from me." She frowned slightly. "Why can't you tell me?"

He voiced sounded almost pleading and he wanted to tell her the news but he wouldn't want to bring her hopes up since they haven't contacted the said ophthalmologist. "Not now, Kaori. I'll tell you when everything is clear." He said reassuringly.

She stayed silent until she slowed nodded in response. "I'll wait, then."

* * *

After a couple of more weeks had passed, the teams for the semi-finals for the nationals had been decided and as usual Rikkai Dai Fuzoku was one of the eight teams that entered. The students congratulated them; cheering and supported them since they all knew that it was their last chance to win the nationals for the second time (they lost during their first year in high school for the reason that the current regulars were not that talented).

All of the regulars were inside the club room, wherein Seiichi stood in front of them. On his right was Sanada and on the other side was Renji. Niou and Hiroshi sat together as usual and beside the trickster was Akaya who was trying to keep himself awake. Seated near Renji were Jackal and Marui who was eating from sweet and sour strips.

"Okay since everyone's here, let's start." The rikkai buchou began. "As we expected, most of the teams that we encountered from Junior high entered the semi-finals in the nationals."

Renji took his place and continued, "The teams that got in the semi-finals other than us are Fudomine," the corner of his lips twitched upwards because of Kippei who informed him of Sanada's current status, "Josei Shounan," Niou choked a bit when he remembered a certain voluptuous coach, "Shitenhoji, Higa," the members narrowed the eyes when the team was mentioned. It was common knowledge that the Higa team played dirty to win and for them, it was unforgivable. "Rokkaku, Midoriyama, and Seigaku."

Niou grinned. "As expected, Seigaku entered the semi-finals."

"Of course, they're stronger than the last time we played against them." Hiroshi said casually. "Especially that Echizen Ryoma." He added.

Both Sanada and Seiichi reacted somewhat when the Seigaku's ace was mentioned. "Ah that's true. We can't be careless, especially with that team." The rikkai buchou smiled. _I have to pay him back, after all._

"So which team are we going up against first?" Akaya asked.

Renji answered, "Midoriyama. They're strong point is on the doubles than singles. They won't be that much of a threat."

Sanada nodded. "Fudomine will be against Higa, Rokkaku against Josei Shounan, and Seigaku will be up against Shitenhoji."

"Now if we look at each team's capabilities and strong points, the possible teams who will enter the finals would be Fudomine, Rokkaku if they played their cards well against Josei Shounan, and as regards with Seigaku and Shitenhoji, it's not much clear. Both of them are strong teams." Renji told them.

"Don't forget us." Niou called, smirking.

The fukubuchou's lip twitched slightly and continued, "That being settled, our next opponent would be Fudomine."

Jackal shot a furtive look on Akaya. _I just hope you would play less violently this time._

Akaya caught the brazilian staring at him. He gave him a cheery grin and looked back at Sanada and Seiichi. _Oh I'll play nicely. Right._

Seiichi held up a hand and said calmly, "Since that's settled, the meeting's over. There will be no practice for today. We need all the rest we can get for our first opponents."

Akaya and Marui stood up and cheered. "Thanks mura-buchou!" they said together.

Jackal sweat dropped while the rest ignored them completely as they walked out. "Come on Bunta, let's go." He said to him.

"Yeah! Let's go the bakeshop and buy some cakes! I'm starving!" the redhead said happily as he ran out of the room. "Cake! Muffins! Sweets!" he sang.

As Akaya left the room as well, Jackal locked the door and walked out, following Marui who was at the school gates. While walking, he noticed some changes from his doubles partner. He seemed more cheerful than before but he caught (or maybe he imagined) a drop of insecurity. He deduced that it might have been related with his current relationship with Kaori but then again, why would he be insecure?

Then a realization entered his mind. _He was being a bit stiff when he was talking with Yukimura-buchou for the past three months. But then again, why?_

Putting two on two together, Jackal slowly understood something. _Was he insecure because mura-buchou? I did overhear Sanada and Renji talking about Yukimura-buchou something. I believe they said he was visiting someone. Who was that person again? They did say it's connected with Bunta._

He continued to contemplate and let Marui ramble the usual things in life. They entered the bakeshop that his doubles partner prefers best he told him that he'll sit in one corner and wait for him. As the redhead began staring at the sweets and decide what to buy, he resumed thinking.

_The only person who's connected with Bunta is…Kaor__i-san._ The brazilian frowned slightly. _Why would buchou be acquainted with her? He met her with Niou and Renji on the same day as us supposedly, though they somewhat scared her at first._

He tried to remember one small detail that was on the tip of his tongue but in the end, failed to do so. _So Bunta's insecure because of Yukimura-buchou and the connection between them is Kaori-san. He and Kaori-san are dating, that's what Bunta said anyway but I guess it's true. Kaori-san doesn't seem to be the lying type. And about buchou…_

"Oi Jackal!"

He snapped back to reality and saw Marui staring at him worryingly in front of him, carrying a huge bag of sweets in his arms. "Ah Bunta." He said.

"You're in daze for a while." He said quickly. "Is there something bothering you? Problems?" he said inquiringly.

He shook his head once and said convincingly, "No, there's nothing bothering me or any problem you have in mind. I'm just thinking about something quite intruiging." He checked the time on his watch and said to him, "Come on, we'd better keep going."

Marui nodded and the both of them began walking. "So what were you thinking about anyway?"

"Nothing important." He said simply. _Sorry I can't tell you. _

He stared at him for a while and gave up. "Fine, but tell me if it's okay." He said, pouting a bit.

"Hai hai." He said lightly. As they separate their ways, he gave out a small sigh. _Maybe I should ask Sanada and the rest about this. I have a feeling something might happen._ Jackal continued his way back to his house, thinking all of the things he thought. When he arrived in front of his doorstep, he thought aloud, "I guess it's for the best. Waiting."

He took out his key from his bag and unlocked the door. He swung the door open, entered inside, and closed the door behind him.

_**

* * *

Sorry for the uber long wait. I mean, the last the time I've updated this story was…May? So it's been almost 6 months! So sorry!**_

_**Hmm…this chapter is so random in my opinion. I guess the main point of this chapter is that they have to "wait" until the right time comes and everything will be revealed to the. Ehh so much for writer's block , I can't believe myself. Well, like any other human being, the reason why I wasn't able to post was because of schoolwork. Oh yeah, and lots of cleaning because of that stupid typhoon "Ondoy" or "Ketsena."**_

_**I may or may not update soon…I have a lot of things in mind and mostly they about financial problems (sucks to be middle class). Hmm please review though. Thanks!**_


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